"We've got a consumer that's been stunningly resilient to tax hikes and sequestration"
- Mike Englund, chief economist at Action Economics in Boulder
Mood among American consumers rebounded in early May to the highest level in nearly six years, as people felt better about their financial and economic prospects, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan said Friday. A gauge of consumer sentiment rocketed to 83.7 in May, the highest since July 2007, up from 76.4 the preceding month. Analysts, however, expected a reading of 77.9. In the meantime, a measure of current economic conditions jumped to 97.5 from 89.9, the highest since October 2007, while the index of consumer expectations gained to 74.8 from 67.8. Despite the improvement, deceleration in manufacturing sector, automatic federal budget cuts and higher payrolls taxes threaten economic growth.
"We've got a consumer that's been stunningly resilient to tax hikes and sequestration," Mike Englund, chief economist at Action Economics in Boulder, Colorado, said before the report. "
Also Friday, the Conference Board's said that the U.S. leading indicators climbed in April, suggesting a rebound from March that indicates the world's largest economy will continue gaining pace. An index of the outlook for the next three to six months climbed 0.6% last month, after falling a revised 0.2% in the prior month that was steeper than previously reported.
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