U.S. Consumer Comfort Nears 17-Year High on Better Finance Views

Americans’ sentiment improved for a fifth-straight week, buoyed by brighter views of their personal finances and record-high confidence among Republicans, the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index showed Thursday.

Confidence continues to strengthen amid a tight labor market, tax cuts and a drop in gas prices since late May that are making Americans more likely to make purchases and feel better about household finances. Those gains outweighed dimmer evaluations of the state of the economy, which eased slightly from a three-month high the prior week, responses through July 8 showed.