Economic Views Lift U.S. Consumer Comfort to Fresh 17-Year High

Reade Pickert

27 Jul 2018, 07:40 AM IST

(Bloomberg) -- Americans’ confidence rose to the highest level since February 2001 on brighter assessments of the economy, the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index showed Thursday.

Highlights of Consumer Comfort (Week Ended July 23)
Weekly index increased for a seventh straight week, to 59 from 58.8 Gauge of current views of the economy rose to 61.5, the second-highest level since February 2001, from 59.2 Measure of buying climate decreased to 50.6 from 52 Comfort gauge of personal finances edged down to 64.9 from 65.1

Key Takeaways

Confidence is rising as Americans continue to enjoy the benefits of tax cuts and a strong labor market, with data last week showing jobless claims fell to the lowest since 1969, while showing little concern about new tariffs and intensifying rhetoric surrounding trade issues. A more upbeat view of the economy outweighed weaker sentiment about the buying climate and household finances.

Other Details

Confidence among men increased while it fell among women, leaving the widest gap in more than 11 years
Comfort among Americans earning more than $50,000 a year reached highest level since January 2001
Sentiment among part-time workers climbed to a 17-year high

To contact the reporter on this story: Reade Pickert in Washington at epickert@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net, Jeff Kearns, Vince Golle

Economic Views Lift U.S. Consumer Comfort to Fresh 17-Year High