Jim Hoger, with some help from a store clerk, loads up a big screen TV that he just bought from a Best Buy in Winnipeg, Tuesday, July 24/06.John Woods
The Conference Board of Canada says consumer confidence continued to rise in March, its third consecutive month of gains.
The board's index of consumer confidence was up 4.3 points to 79.5.
However the think-tank says consumer confidence remains fragile as most of the gains in March were due to a single factor — attitudes towards major purchases.
The report found that 44.2 per cent of those questioned said that now is a good time to make a major purchase.
Across Canada, four of the five regions posted gains.
British Columbia saw the largest increase, while Quebec was the only area to see confidence drop on concerns of job creation and finances.
The Conference Board report came as a survey by the Royal Bank of Canada suggested Canadians and Americans share concerns about the economy, but attitudes seem to be a bit gloomier south of the border.
The bank said 28 per cent of Canadians believed the economy would improve next year.
Meanwhile, 26 per cent of Americans shared that view — the highest level in more than a year.
Just over a third of Canadians believed their personal financial situation would change for the better in the year ahead, down two percentage points from the previous month.
For Americans, that number was 26 per cent, down five percentage points.
About 26 per cent of Americans expressed concerns about job loss, a six-percentage-point improvement from last month, whereas in Canada that figure stayed flat at 21 per cent.