The US consumer confidence index rebounded in August, reaching a three-month high!

Data showed that as inflation eased and oil prices fell, the U.S. consumer confidence index finally rebounded in August after falling for three consecutive months.

The Conference Board said on Tuesday its consumer confidence index rose to 103.2 in August from 95.3 in July.

The business research group's expectations index - a measure of consumers' outlook for income, business and labor conditions over the next six months - rose to 75.1 in August from 65.6 in the previous month.

Analysts had expected consumer confidence to pick up slightly as gasoline prices have fallen in recent weeks. AAA said the average U.S. gasoline price fell from more than $5 a gallon in mid-June to $3.85 on Tuesday.

Although inflation appears to have eased recently, most goods are still much more expensive than they were a year ago.

The U.S. government reported earlier this month that its consumer price index rose 8.5% in July from a year earlier, down from a 9.1% year-over-year increase in June. Inflation remained unchanged from June to July, the first time that has happened after 25 straight months of increases.

Since March, the Fed has implemented its fastest pace of interest rate hikes in more than a decade to try to curb inflation not seen in 40 years, which has sent costs soaring for American households on food, gas, rent and other necessities.

Last week, at its annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed may need to keep interest rates high enough to slow economic growth for some time as a way to curb the worst inflation in 40 years.

Powell acknowledged that raising rates will hurt American households and businesses, but also said the pain would be much greater if inflation was allowed to worsen. We have to stick with it until this job is done, he said.

"Looking ahead, an improvement in consumer confidence in August could help support consumption, but inflation and additional rate hikes remain risks to growth in the near term," said Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at the Conference Board .

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