The numbers: Consumer sentiment crept up in early February to a 31-month high, fueled by slowing inflation and a strong job market.
Americans are more confident inflation will continue to slow and that jobs will remain easy to find. A rising stock market has also buoyed confidence. A measurement of expectations for the next six months climbed to 78.4 from 77.1 in January. That’s also the highest level since July 2021. Big picture: The economy is growing at an above-average speed. Unemployment is extremely low at 3.7%. Gas is cheaper. Stocks are rising. And inflation is slowing, though not as fast as investors had hoped. The Federal Reserve is also primed to cut interest rates later this year.Still, it may take a while for confidence to return to prepandemic levels in light of the steep increase in prices over the last four years.