PRINCETON, N.J., April 9 (UPI) -- Confidence in the U.S. economy held steady in the week that ended Sunday, holding in the vicinity of a five-year high, a Gallup poll indicates.
For the week, the Gallup Economic Confidence Index -- a compilation of current condition and future expectations indexes -- was minus 13, Galllup said.
The index is close to its five-year high of minus 8, which the index reached in early February.
The index, which has not reached positive territory in five years, began the year at minus 21, reached a five-year high a month later, then dropped to minus 22 in early March when negotiations in Washington failed to avert the sequestration budget cuts.
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Confidence then rose as stock markets reached closing highs in recent weeks, Gallup said.
The index is comprised of two component indexes, one of which measures confidence in the current economy and one of which measures confidence in the future.
In the weekly survey ending Sunday, 18 percent of respondents indicated they believed the economy is in good or excellent shape while 35 percent indicated the economy was in poor shape. That put the current conditions index at minus 17, close to the prior week's current conditions mark of minus 15.
In the current week, confidence in the future index came to minus 9 with 43 percent or respondents indicating they thought the economy was going to improve and 52 percent indicating they thought it was likely to decline.
That was close to last week's future conditions mark, which was minus 8.
Gallup said results of the poll are based on 3,553 surveys conducted April 1-7. The results carry a margin of error of plus and minus 2 percentage points.
