Consumer Confidence Jumps as U.S. Home Values Climb: Economy

Consumer confidence unexpectedly jumped in April, and the rebound in home values accelerated earlier this year, showing the recovery in residential real estate is buttressing the U.S. economy.

The Conference Board’s sentiment index climbed to 68.1, exceeding the highest estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists, data from the New York-based private research group showed today. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 cities rose 9.3 percent in February from the same month in 2012, the biggest year-to-year advance since 2006.