By Harriet Torry 

Consumers' outlook on the U.S. economy improved further in September, as a strong economy and robust job growth bolstered American consumers' sentiment.

The Conference Board, a private research group, said Tuesday its index of consumer confidence rose to 138.4, up from 134.7 in August.

The consumer confidence index was last higher 18 years ago, in September 2000. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a reading of 132.0 for September.

"Consumers are very upbeat right now. Not surprisingly, spending patterns reflect this optimism, as consumer spending has been quite strong consistently since winter broke in March," said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities, in a note to clients.

A gauge of household assessments about the present economic situation increased slightly in September, while an index tracking expectations for the future surged to 115.3 this month from 109.3 last month.

"These historically high confidence levels should continue to support healthy consumer spending, and should be welcome news for retailers as they begin gearing up for the holiday season," said Lynn Franco, the Conference Board's director of economic indicators.

Measures of U.S. household and business confidence jumped after the 2016 presidential election and have remained high, buttressed by underlying strength in the economy.

Consumer sentiment as measured by a University of Michigan survey jumped in early September to the second-highest level since 2004 -- behind only the reading in March of this year. The Michigan report showed overall consumer sentiment reached an index reading of 100.8 in September's preliminary report, up from 96.2 in August.

Write to Harriet Torry at harriet.torry@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 25, 2018 11:16 ET (15:16 GMT)

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