Consumer confidence rising

Tuesday, May 27, 2003 | 10:03 a.m.

NEW YORK -- With the Iraqi war moving into the history books, consumers started turning their attention to domestic matters and became modestly more confident in the economy, pushing a key indicator to a six-month high, according to a Conference Board survey released today.

The Consumer Confidence Index rose to 83.8 in May from 81 in April when the index jumped 19.6 points as consumers cheered the swift end of heavy fighting in Iraq.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reported today that sales of new homes rose by 1.7 percent from March to April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.03 million. That marked the best showing since December. Sales of previously owned homes rose by 5.6 percent in April to a rate of 5.84 million, the fifth highest level on record, the National Association of Realtors reported.

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