: Americans’ confidence in the economy retreated in April, with Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index averaging -14 for the month, down from -10 in March. The April average ties with September 2015 as numerically the worst since confidence started climbing toward positive territory in late 2014 and early 2015 after gas prices began to decline. The high point in confidence in Gallup’s eight-year tracking trend occurred in January 2015, when the monthly index averaged +3, while the low point was -60 in October 2008. Interestingly, Americans’ confidence in the economy is influenced to a significant degree by political considerations, namely the match between an individual’s party identification and the party of the U.S. president. As such, Democrats have consistently had greater confidence than independents and especially Republicans during Barack Obama’s presidency. All three party groups showed slight drops of between two and four index points in April compared with March. The April U.S. Economic Confidence Index score was +10 among Democrats, -15 among independents and -38 among Republicans. (Source: Gallup)
