CEA’s index of consumer expectations, which measures consumer sentiment...

CEA’s index of consumer expectations, which measures consumer sentiment about the “broader economy,” climbed 1.2 points in August from July to reach 172.5, its 2014 high point, CEA said Tuesday. However, CEA’s index of consumer technology expectations, which measures consumer sentiment toward technology spending, fell 4.8 points in August from July, to 90.5, it said. Of the broader economy, CEA thinks that “despite continued softness in the housing market, fundamentals of the economy are slowly strengthening thanks to an improving labor picture and signs of positive economic growth into the close of the year,” it said. As for the sentiment decline in technology spending, it’s still above the August average for the past three years, CEA said: “This is a positive sign, as we head into the back half of the year. With new product announcements expected in September, we should see consumer sentiment about tech spending remain above average.” To compile the indexes, CEA interviews 1,000 consumers monthly and releases updated data on the fourth Tuesday of every month, it said.