Recession fears are starting to fade for Americans

US consumer confidence grew for the third month in a row to its highest level since July, according to a Conference Board report released Wednesday.

US consumer confidence in December grew for the third month in a row to its highest level since July, while recession fears abated, according to a Conference Board report released Wednesday. The business group’s Consumer Confidence Index jumped to 110.7 from a downwardly revised 101 in November. Additionally, the “perceived likelihood of a US recession” during the next 12 months fell to its lowest level seen all year, according to the report. December’s preliminary reading far exceeded economists’ expectations of 104.5, according to FactSet consensus estimates. “December’s increase in consumer confidence reflected more positive ratings of current business conditions and job availability, as well as less pessimistic views of business, labor market, and personal income prospects over the next six months,” Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, said in a statement. The December headline index was given a boost from an improvement in consumers’ outlooks for six months from now — particularly for their job prospects, business conditions and their incomes.