Consumer Comfort in U.S. Rises for Fifth Time in Last Six Weeks

(Bloomberg) -- Americans' confidence climbed for the fifth time in the last six weeks, resulting in the strongest quarterly sentiment since 2007, Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index figures showed Thursday.

Key Points

• Weekly comfort measure rose to 50.2 in period ended April 2, from 49.7
• Personal finances gauge increased to 58.9 from 57.4
• Sentiment about national economy improved to 47.5 from 47.1
• Buying-climate measure eased to 44, a five-week low, from 44.5

Big Picture

The gain in sentiment, which included more optimism among full- and part-time workers and spanned most income groups, reflects a strong job market and steady growth in the economy. At the same time, the political divide worsened -- with confidence reaching a new nine-year high among Republicans while barely budging for Democrats. The difference was the largest in favor of Republicans since 2009.

The Details

• Americans earning less than $50,000 became more optimistic last week, while confidence cooled among those who earn more than $100,000
• Sentiment rose in three of four regions; the South posted a decline
• Comfort gauge for men rose to the highest level since May 2007 while women remained downbeat

To contact the reporter on this story: Shobhana Chandra in Washington at schandra1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Vince Golle