Consumer Comfort in U.S. Increases for Third Consecutive Week
By Michelle Jamrisko - Jun 7, 2012 9:45 AM ET .
Consumer confidence in the U.S. rose for the third straight week as measures of personal finance and the buying climate improved.
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index increased to minus 37.6 in the week ended June 3 from minus 39.3 in the prior period. While the reading was little changed from this year’s average of minus 38.8, it has climbed 6 points since reaching an almost four-month low in mid May.
A 9 percent drop in gasoline prices from the one-year high reached in early April may be overcoming disappointing news on the jobs front and a slump in stocks caused by concern over the outlook in Europe. The less money spent on filling up automobile fuel tanks, the more that can go to buying other goods and services, which will help underpin economic growth.
“Consumers are clearly a bit more optimistic following the sustained decline in gasoline prices over the past two months,” said Joseph Brusuelas, a senior economist at Bloomberg LP in New York. “For now, that is offsetting the economic slowdown and soft employment market, as well as the increasing probability of financial problems in Europe spilling over into the broader global economy.”
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