Consumers Start Feeling More Comfortable
Covid-19 has put a significant dent in overall sentiment, but Americans are seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel.
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The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index1 rose Thursday for the first time in 10 weeks — ticking up to 35.5 from 34.7. This sliver of positivity is set against the depressing, if not unexpected, fact that the index is down 27.5 points from mid-March, and 31.8 points from a two-decade peak in January.
A closer look at the data reveals interesting differences in reported comfort between men and women; Republicans and Democrats; and those who didn't graduate from high school and those with a college degree or higher. Curiously, there is little difference between age groups.