US consumer confidence recovered from the hurricane-induced doldrums last month to hit a 17-year high in October, according to a monthly survey released today.
The consumer confidence index for September was revised up to show a slight increase after the initial report showed a modest decline following the impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
The index beat expectations, rising to 125.9 in October from the upwardly-revised 120.6 in September, the Conference Board survey showed.
That marks four straight months of increases.
The positive confidence data "suggest the economy will continue expanding at a solid pace for the remainder of the year," Lynn Franco, the Conference Board's head of indicators, said in a statement.
"Consumers were also considerably more upbeat about the short-term outlook, with the prospect of improving business conditions as the primary driver."
The survey's present condition index increased to 151.1 from 146.9, while the expectations index jumped six points to 109.1.
Confidence was boosted by the job market "which had not received such favourable ratings since the summer of 2001," Ms Franco said.
Amid the survey's employment indicators, "jobs plentiful" jumped nearly four points to 36.3, continuing a steady march upward as the US economy has continued to create jobs at a solid pace. The "jobs hard to get" measure slipped to 17.5.
