Americans feel better about the economy ... for now

What would the economic event of 2021 be?

1:45

(CNN Business) -

 Americans are feeling more optimistic about the recovery of the economy, which has continued to strengthen during the last month of 2021. And this is good news for the New Year as well.

• US stocks tumble and oil plummets as storm clouds gather over the world economy

An indicator of consumer confidence rose to 115.8 points in December, more than economists predicted and also above November's level, according to data from The Conference Board.

For reference, the index stood at 100 in 1985.

Concerns about inflation eased somewhat.

And, similarly, the uncertainty about the pandemic was also reduced.

This, despite the increase in cases and the discovery of the highly infectious omicron variant.

The expectations of Americans regarding their economy

What will the global economy look like in 2022?

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Although the sentiments of Americans remained more or less the same regarding the current state of the economy, expectations about the short-term growth outlook improved.

"The proportion of consumers planning to buy houses, cars, large appliances and vacations over the next six months has increased," said Lynn Franco, chief director of economic indicators for The Conference Board.

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"Consumer concern about inflation is somewhat mitigated by strong earnings expectations," said Thomas Simons, Jefferies money market economist.

At least for now.

But the risk is not over yet when it comes to the dynamics that created nerves among consumers this year: "Looking ahead to 2022, both consumer confidence and spending will continue to face the headwinds of price increases and expected winter wave of the pandemic, "Franco explained.

The economy was a little better than expected in summer

In other economic news, the United States' gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity, was revised up for the third quarter.

According to new data from the Office of Economic Analysis, the US economy expanded at an annualized rate of 2.3% between July and September, according to a third estimate of the data.

Which represents a slightly faster pace than the 2.1% previously reported.

The revision came on the back of slightly stronger consumer spending and inventory investment.

Omicron variant could halt economic recovery 0:48

Even so, it continues to be a slowdown in the annualized expansion of 6.7% in the second quarter.

And the fall was due, in turn, to people spending much less than in the spring.

Precisely when Washington's latest round of stimulus checks helped Americans buy.

During the summer, the recovery faced some obstacles as the delta variant of the coronavirus slowed the resumption of economic activity.

And it also led consumers to adjust their behavior.

To make matters worse, the supply chain crisis slowed the recovery.

But economists are hopeful that the recovery will accelerate again in the last quarter of the year.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta anticipates that the economy will expand at an annual rate of 7.2% between October and this month, according to last week's update of its GDPNow model.

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