A near-record high in Americans’ ratings of their personal finances and improved views of the buying climate lifted the Consumer Comfort Index to a pandemic-era high this week, extending a five-week advance despite the extensive spread of the coronavirus Delta variant.
The advance comes as major stock market indices hit record highs and the U.S. weekly jobless rate fell to a 17-month low. Both are strong correlates of consumer sentiment.
The CCI is up 5.7 points in five weeks – its largest rally since coronavirus vaccines became widely available to most Americans four months ago – to a 17-month high of 57.2 on its 0-100 scale. It’s recovered 22.5 points since bottoming out last May, now just 5.8 points short of its pre-pandemic level. CONTINUED
Langer Research Associates
