Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Rises to Highest Since July 2007
Source: Bloomberg
By Danielle Trubow Oct 31, 2014 10:02 AM ET
Consumer confidence rose in October to a seven-year high as employment opportunities and declining gasoline prices boosted Americans’ spirits.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of sentiment increased to 86.9, the highest since July 2007, from 84.6 in September. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey of 62 economists called for the measure to hold at its preliminary October reading of 86.4.
Cheaper fuel, rebounding stock prices and job gains on pace for their strongest year since 1999 are keeping households upbeat. Bigger wage gains that accompany the increase in hiring would help provide a bigger push for consumer spending that unexpectedly dropped last month.
“Consumers have more disposable income to spend on things other than gasoline,” Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in New York, said before the report. “Overall, consumer spending should be pretty decent in the fourth quarter.”
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-31/michigan-u-s-consumer-sentiment-index-rises-to-86-9-from-84-6.html
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