American Economic Confidence Matches Four Year High--Gallup

American’s confidence in the economy matched a four year high last week, according to Gallup. The data affirms other recent data on consumer confidence. Retail activity has also been strong. Retail sales rose 1.1% in February. Car sales also surged last month. And, the economy has added over 200,000 jobs for four straight months.

Another cause of the positive reaction may be the extension of tax cuts which has improve the net income of many Americans. The poll also indicates that the price of gas has not badly dented confidence yet.

According to Gallup

U.S. economic confidence increased sharply to -18 last week from -25 the prior week — the highest since February 2011 when it was also -18. The -18 readings are the best weekly levels in more than four years.

The firm added

The percentage of Americans saying the economy is “getting better” increased to 43% last week, while the percentage saying it is “getting worse” fell to 53%. Both of these measures are at their best levels since the 43% “getting better” and 52% “getting worse” of the week ending Feb. 13, 2011.   In a separate question, consumers’ “poor” rating of the economy is now at 39%. This is the lowest “poor” rating for current economic conditions since the week ending March 9, 2008.

Should the trend continue, it would bode well for first quarter GDP figures and March employment numbers. If, however, gas prices begin to weigh on household budgets, the trend could reverse itself quickly

Methodology: Results are based on telephone interviews conducted as part of the Gallup Daily tracking survey with a random sample of more than 2,000 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, selected using random-digit-dial sampling.