Consumer Comfort in U.S. Climbs to Highest in Four Weeks
By Lorraine Woellert - May 31, 2012 9:45 AM
Consumer confidence in the U.S. climbed to a four-week high as more Americans said their finances were in better shape.
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rose to minus 39.3 in the week ended May 27 from minus 42 in the prior period. The reading was little changed from this year’s average of minus 38.9. All three of its components -- the economy, personal finances and buying plans -- advanced.
Cheaper prices at the gas pump and a recent slowdown in dismissals may be helping stabilize sentiment, reducing the odds that spending will falter. At the same time, a recession in Europe threatens to discourage some U.S. companies from expanding headcounts, inhibiting the wage gains that would lay the groundwork for a bigger pickup in demand.
“While the recent decline in gasoline prices and slower pace of initial claims may have bolstered consumer comfort over the past week, overall sentiment remains in the doldrums,” said Joseph Brusuelas, a senior economist at Bloomberg LP in New York. “Given the looming crisis in Europe and the weak pace of hiring in the economy, risks to the consumer outlook remain elevated roughly midway through 2012.”
The number of American applying for unemployment insurance payment rose to a five-week high, a sign progress in reducing joblessness may be stalling. First-time claims for jobless benefits increased by 10,000 to 383,000 last week, Labor Department figures showed today.
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