Consumer Comfort in U.S. Climbs to Highest Level Since April
By Elizabeth Dexheimer - Oct 25, 2012 9:45 AM ET ..
Consumer confidence last week reached a six-month high as U.S. households became less pessimistic about the economy.
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rose to minus 34.6 in the period ended Oct. 21, the eighth gain in the last nine weeks, from minus 34.8 the previous period. Americans’ views of economy were the brightest since early May.
Lower gasoline prices, an improving housing market and less joblessness may be helping to ease anxiety as the world’s largest economy approaches a presidential election in less than two weeks. Federal Reserve policy makers yesterday acknowledged a pickup in household spending that is helping to sustain growth as business investment and exports slow.
“Consumer sentiment continues an impressive rebound from summertime lows, mainly due to falling gasoline costs and stabilization of housing prices,” said Joseph Brusuelas, a senior economist at Bloomberg LP in New York. The labor market will “likely continue to see modest gains, which probably bolstered income expectations among households.”
The number of Americans filing first-time applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, returning to a level that shows the labor market is making limited progress, another report today showed.
Jobless claims decreased by 23,000 to 369,000 in the week ended Oct. 20 from a revised 392,000 the prior period, the Labor Department reported. The drop comes after weeks of big swings in the figures caused by difficulties in adjusting the data for seasonal variations.
Bloomberg.com
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