"There seems to be enough real improvement in the job market for confidence to be increasing"
- Robert Brusca, president of Fact & Opinion Economics
U.S. consumer confidence rose to the highest level in five years in May as consumers became more optimistic on the outlook of the country's economy. The Thomson Reuters / University of Michigan index of sentiment rose to 79.3 from 77.8 in April.
"This is telling us the consumer is feeling OK," said Robert Brusca, president of Fact & Opinion Economics in New York.
"There seems to be enough real improvement in the job market for confidence to be increasing. When confidence readings increase, you can be pretty sure consumer spending numbers will go up."
"Unfortunately, consumer confidence is still extremely vulnerable to a reversal, as occurred in the past two years," survey director Richard Curtin said in a statement.
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