Consumers feeling better about economy than they have in five years

Reuters

Nov. 9, 2012 at 10:07 AM ET

Reuters

Feeling better about jobs and the economy. Consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in five years in November, a widely-watched study shows.

Consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in more than five years in November as consumers felt more optimistic about employment prospects and the outlook for the overall economy, a survey released on Friday showed.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment came in at 84.9, up from 82.6 the month before.

It was above the median forecast of 83 among economists polled by Reuters.

"More consumers expected good rather than bad times financially in the economy in early November, not only for the year ahead but over the next five years as well," survey director Richard Curtin said in a statement.

"This was the most positive outlook for the overall economy in more than five years," he said.

The survey's barometer of current economic conditions rose to 91.3 from 88.1 and above a forecast of 88.8.

The survey's gauge of consumer expectations rose to 80.8 from 79.0 and above an expected 79.6.

The survey's one-year inflation expectation fell to 3.0 percent from 3.1 percent, while the survey's five-to-10-year inflation outlook was at 2.8 percent from 2.7 percent.

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