Consumer Comfort Hits Three-Month High

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index hit its highest level in three months as Americans felt a bit more sanguine about their economic prospects, the newswire reported Thursday (July 2).

The latest reading, for the period that ended June 28, came in at 44 points, up 1.4. That means that the reading has bounced back to retrace half of the 7.8 point decline that had come in the wake of an eight-year high touched in mid-April.

In a Thursday statement, Gary Langer, president of Langer Research Associates, the firm that compiles the data for Bloomberg, said that the measure’s “recent track has correlated very closely with gasoline prices, now easing after a sharp springtime run-up.” Yet Langer also cautioned that volatility in the equity markets, especially amid the Greek debt crisis, could present a “challenge” as the comfort metrics have generally tracked the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Gasoline prices have indeed calmed a bit, after jumping roughly 40 cents per gallon (now prices are roughly $2.80 a gallon) from April into June, and Bloomberg noted that that has helped spur the biggest improvement in consumer purchasing sentiment in more than three years.

That mood has also been elevated by employment gains and rising incomes, in tandem with a wealth effect buoyed by rising home prices. The “buying climate gauge,” a number that tracks consumers’ feelings on whether now is a “good” time to buy items or services, grew to 38.9 from 37. Bloomberg reported that the 4.7 point gain in the past two weeks is the biggest since March 2012.

The measure of comfort surrounding personal finances was 58.6, the highest since early April. And in terms of demographics, noted Bloomberg, among wealthier Americans — i.e., those earning at least $100,000 a year — sentiment increased to the highest level since early May. During the month of June, that gauge climbed 13.1 points, a leap that has been the biggest in eight years.

[vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_separator color=”grey” align=”align_center” style=”” border_width=”” el_width=””][vc_single_image image=”148412″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d” border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_blank” css_animation=”left-to-right” img_size=”full” link=”http://www.pymnts.com/whats-hot-today/”][vc_column_text css_animation=””]

To check out what else is HOT in the world of payments, click here.

[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”grey” align=”align_center” style=”” border_width=”” el_width=””][/vc_column][/vc_row]