(Reuters) - U.S. consumer sentiment brightened noticeably in the aftermath of the presidential election as Americans expressed greater confidence in the outlook for their personal finances and prospects for economic growth, a survey said on Wednesday.
The University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said its consumer sentiment index rose to a final reading of 93.8 for November, up from both the preliminary reading of 91.6 earlier in the month and October's final reading of 87.2.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a reading of 91.6.
The rise pushed the index to its highest level since May, and the index measuring consumer expectations rose to 85.2, its highest since June 2015, from 76.8 last month.
Results from November's preliminary survey, issued on Nov. 11, did not reflect consumers' mood shift following the election of Republican Donald Trump in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. The final reading released Wednesday did capture the shift.
"The upsurge in favorable economic prospects is not surprising given Trump’s populist policy views, and it was perhaps exaggerated by what most considered a surprising victory as well as by a widespread sense of relief that the election had finally ended," the survey's Chief Economist Richard Curtin said in a statement.