Confidence in US Economy Dips to Post-Election Low

The Gallup organization reported that Americans’ optimism about the US economy has slipped to the lowest point since the 2016 presidential election.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Americans’ optimism about the US economy has slipped to the lowest point since the 2016 presidential election, the Gallup organization reported in a release on Tuesday.

"Gallup's US Economic Confidence Index averaged plus-2 for the week ending May 14 — its lowest score recorded this year," the release stated.

The latest score marked a sharp reversal from the Gallup score in early March, when the stock market set a new record and the index hit a nine-year high of plus-16.

Gallup bases its index on two questions that it has asked weekly since 2008: how Americans rate current economic conditions and whether they feel the economy is improving or getting worse, the release explained.

The index has a theoretical maximum of "plus 100" if everyone surveyed says that the economy is doing well and improving.

Despite the latest slump, the Gallup index remained in positive territory, compared with a score of minus 11 in the last full week before the November 8 presidential election, the release noted.