The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index rose to 84.6, the highest reading since July 2013, from 82.5 the month before. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 65 economists projected an increase to 83.3.
Continued progress in the labor market, gains in stock portfolios and a decline in gasoline prices have buoyed household confidence in recent months. Improving outlooks may mean Americans feel more comfortable about boosting their spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy.
“Consumer sentiment is beginning to increase, and that is a reflection of the improving employment situation, and lower gas prices are a plus as well,” said Michelle Girard, chief U.S. economist at RBS Securities Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut. “We’re more upbeat about the consumer than we have been because the pieces finally do seem to be falling together.”
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