The interim Consumer Economic Index (or CEI for short) has sharply risen 6.8% to 66.3, and is an indication that the full month CEI for January will "likely come in above its highest level since we began producing the CER CEI in March of 2010," writes Bill Pecoriello of Consumers Edge Research. That brings the two month rolling average CEI to around 63 (compared to 55-57 during the past six months), matching the levels last seen during April/May/June of 2010. This is an "indication that the consumer is starting to turn a corner, a positive sign for future consumer spending in the United States."