It’s not just Black Friday: Consumers driving economy

After hitting the malls over the weekend, the resurgent American shopper takes the spotlight again in this week’s economic news, with reports on consumer confidence and spending due out. Data on new-home sales and manufacturing are also expected to reflect continued gains.

New-home sales soared 18.9% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 667,000, the most in a decade. Rebuilding from hurricanes may be part of the story.

But many Americans also may be buying newly-constructed homes because of a shortage of existing units. For October, economists surveyed by Action Economics expect the Commerce Department on Monday to report a drop of 8% from that lofty level to a still robust annual rate of 615,000.

Consumer confidence jumped to the highest level in 17 years in October on steady job and income growth and a stock market that keeps setting new records. Economists surveyed expect the Conference Board on Tuesday to announce that its confidence index in November remained very close to its recent high.

On Wednesday, Commerce provides its second estimate of economic growth in the third quarter. Consumption in the July-September period will likely be revised up on Wednesday, Faucher says, a bump that economists say should push third-quarter growth to an even stronger 3.2%. Economists expect Commerce on

Thursday to report a more modest 0.2% gain last month in consumer spending, which makes up about 70% of economic activity.

The nation’s manufacturers have been buoyed by an improving global economy and a revived oil sector. Economists expect the Institute for Supply Management on Friday to announce that its index of manufacturing activity continued to reveal strong growth.