Consumer Sentiment Holds Near Highest Level For The Year

According to the latest Bloomberg survey, consumer sentiment in the U.S. held last week near the highest level of 2014 as employment opportunities kept Americans upbeat about the economy.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index eased to 37.2 in the period ended Oct. 26 from 37.7 a week earlier. The measure reached a high this year of 37.9 in April. A gauge of attitudes about the world's largest economy was the second-strongest since January 2008.

An improving labor market and the cheapest gasoline prices since late 2010 are brightening households' spirits as the holiday shopping season approaches.

Today's report on sentiment showed the buying-climate measure, which asks whether this is a good time to make purchases, fell for a third week, to 31.6 from 32.7, while the gauge of personal finances was little changed at 52.2 from 52.4 the prior period.

The Bloomberg measure about the state of the economy was little changed at 27.9 after 28, which was the highest in almost seven years.

Lower prices at the gas pump are providing Americans with the wherewithal to spend more on other goods and services. The nationwide average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.02 on Oct. 28, down 68 cents from the April peak and the lowest since December 2010, according to AAA, the largest U.S. auto group.

The drop in the cost of fuel is resonating at the lower end of the income scale. Today's report showed confidence among those earning less than $50,000 a year increased to the second-highest level since August 2013.

Meantime, swings in the stock-market are probably having a bigger effect on upper-income earners. Sentiment of those making more than $100,000 a year dropped to a six-week low.

Among the four U.S. regions, only those living in the South were more upbeat last week.