Consumer sentiment maintains at five-year record high

New York -- Consumer sentiment for the week ended May 27 maintained a near five-year high level, according to the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index on Thursday.



Crediting an improving economy and healing personal finances, Americans are expressing continued optimism, as the Index was at minus 29.7 in the period compared with minus 29.4 a week earlier. The margin of error for the figure is 3 percentage points.



According to Bloomberg, views on the current state of the economy matched a mid-April reading as the strongest since January 2008.



Still, the total index has shown little forward momentum since reaching a five-year high of minus 28.9 in April.



“Sustained improvement in employment, gasoline prices and equities, which has created a modest wealth effect among consumers at the upper end of the income spectrum, has continued to support consumer confidence,” said Joseph Brusuelas, a senior economist at Bloomberg LP in New York. “Overall sentiment may stall near these levels without a commensurate increase in wages and salaries down the income ladder.”



The Commerce Department revealed that gross domestic product rose at a 2.4% annualized rate in the quarter, revised from the 2.5% pace initially reported. Household purchases climbed at a 3.4% pace, almost twice as fast as the prior quarter’s 1.8% gain.