WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer confidence rebounded this month to the highest level in more than nine years as Americans appeared unfazed by a tumultuous election campaign.
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index registered 107.1 in November, up from 100.8 last month, highest since July 2007.
Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions was also the sunniest since July 2007. Their expectations for the next six months were the most optimistic since June 2015.
The survey was mostly taken before the Nov. 8 election. Conference Board economist Lynn Franco says that “it appears from the small sample of post-election responses that consumers’ optimism was not impacted by the outcome.”
The index fell in October and was expected to rise this month, but the strength of the rebound took economists by surprise.
“The election result has had a clear positive impact on sentiment,” Andrew Hunter, U.S. economist at Capital Economics, wrote. “It also supports our view that consumer spending will continue to rise at a decent pace over the rest of the year.”
Economists monitor the mood of consumers because their spending drives growth, accounting for almost 70 percent of U.S. economic output.
The government said Tuesday the economy grew at a 3.2 percent annual pace from July to September, fastest in two years.
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