Consumer Comfort in U.S. Reaches Five-Year High as Finances Heal
Consumer sentiment jumped last week to the highest level in more than five years as record stock prices and the rebound in housing made more Americans feel the expansion will be maintained.
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index climbed to minus 29.2 in the week ended April 14, the highest since January 2008, from minus 34 during the prior period. A separate gauge of the economic outlook, issued once a month, was little changed in April at minus 4.
Last week’s gain in confidence, the biggest in more than a year, was broad-based with every age group, all regions and most income brackets showing an advance, raising the odds that any slump in consumer spending will prove temporary. At the same time, the mood of those on the lower end of the pay scale remained depressed by higher taxes and a slowdown in hiring.
“Upper-income Americans continue to feel buoyant on the sustainable recovery,” said Joseph Brusuelas, a senior economist at Bloomberg LP in New York. “The difficulties that can be observed down the income ladder reflect the significant split in the fortunes of upper-income Americans and low-income cohorts.”
Another report today showed little change in the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits. First-time jobless claims climbed by 4,000 to 352,000 in the week ended April 13, the Labor Department said.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-18/consumer-comfort-in-u-s-reaches-five-year-high-as-finances-heal.html
