Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Rose in September to 14-Month High
By Michelle Jamrisko Sep 26, 2014 10:04 AM ET
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of sentiment increased to 84.6, the same as the preliminary reading, from 82.5 in August. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 84.8.
Employment growth at the strongest pace in 15 years is helping brighten moods, while cheaper prices at the gas pump are making it easier on household budgets. Faster wage increases and more broad-based improvement in employment would help provide an additional boost for sentiment and spark bigger gains in the consumer purchases that make up about 70 percent of the economy.
“The consumer has hardly looked better this cycle,” said Jacob Oubina, senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets LLC in New York. “Job growth, income growth and a sharp decline in gasoline prices over the last few months will conspire to keep a pretty decent underpinning on consumer confidence.”
In another report this morning, the world’s largest economy expanded faster than previously forecast in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department’s third and final reading. Gross domestic product rose at a 4.6 percent annualized rate in the three months ended in June, up from a prior estimate of 4.2 percent. It was the strongest pace since the final three months of 2011.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-26/michigan-consumer-sentiment-index-rises-to-84-6-from-82-5.html
