Consumer confidence rises to four-year high in November

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Tuesday by the Conference Board showed that consumer confidence rose in November to the highest level in more than four years.



The confidence index climbed to 73.7, the highest since February 2008, from a revised 73.1 reading the prior month, indicating that U.S. household spending will keep growing.



A median forecast of 75 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected a reading of 73.



“Confidence is holding up well,” Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, told Bloomberg. “Spending is going to continue to increase. This bodes well for the fourth quarter.”



The gain in confidence may have been restrained by a plunge in the Middle Atlantic region, the area covering New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania that was most affected by superstorm Sandy. That area’s index dropped 14.6 points to a three-month low of 54.2.



Among other measures, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index climbed in November to a five- year high, while the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index last week hovered near the strongest point in seven months.