New data signal US economic recovery

US consumer confidence rises and home prices continue to fall, reviving hopes that the US economy is on the road to recovery. Home prices declined 18.6 percent in February compared with one year earlier, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices said on Tuesday. This was the first time in 16 months that the annual decline was not a record. The S&P/Case Shiller index records prices in 20 of the largest cities in the US. Separately, the Conference Board said its sentiment index had climbed to 39.2 this month, up from a revised 26.9 in March. The reading was the highest since November 2008. Analysts believe the two reports are signs of recovery for the world's largest economy. They however argue that huge problems in the financial sector and severe job losses are still preventing an economic turnaround. The Labor Department said last week that the number of Americans filing applications for jobless benefits had reached a record high of 640,000 in the week ending April 18, up from a revised 613,000 the previous week. On a monthly basis, house prices were down 2.2 percent, from a 2.8 percent fall in January. The index is down 30.7 percent compared with its peak in mid-2006. As of February, average home prices are now at levels similar to where they were in the third quarter of 2003.