Americans’ economic expectations rise to highest in nine months

WASHINGTON – Americans’ economic expectations rose to a nine-month high in October even as households’ current assessments of the economy and buying climate dimmed last week, according to figures in the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index released Thursday.
Key points
The economic expectations index rose to 45 this month from 41.5 in September. The weekly consumer comfort gauge fell to 41.3 in the period that ended Oct. 16, matching the lowest level since mid-December, from 42.1. The buying-climate gauge declined to a one-month low of 37.4 from 38.9. The measure of personal finances was 54.3 versus 54.5. The weekly index of current views on the economy eased to 32.2 from 32.8.

Big picture

While consumers are less upbeat about current economic conditions, the pickup in expectations indicates sustained gains in household spending that have been the linchpin of economic growth. Twenty-seven percent say the economy is getting better, matching the highest share since January. At the same time, the percentage of those who say the economy is getting worse has exceeded the share saying the economy is improving since March of last year.
The details
The comfort index among men fell to a five-month low. Sentiment among single adults was the weakest since January. Confidence for those age 18 to 34 fell to its lowest since November 2014. Sentiment of consumers in the South was weakest in 10 months. The comfort of full-time workers was the lowest since November.

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