Despite this week’s stock market tumble, faith and optimism in the U.S. economy has hit a 13-year high, according to a leading poll on economic confidence.

The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index jumped in February to 56.7 from 55.1, marking the 17th consecutive month in positive territory. A reading below 50 indicates pessimism while a reading above 50 signals optimism.

It’s not far from the all-time high of 62.9 in March 2002.

“The overall Economic Optimism Index reached its highest level since October of 2004, while the sub-index for the 6-month outlook stood at its highest since October of 2012,” said IBD’s Terry Jones. “Clearly, as far as optimism goes, there has been a major positive shift in sentiment, particularly evident since the December passage of Trump’s tax cuts.”

The survey is not a fluke. Just a week ago, the global financier UBS found widespread corporate confidence in the economy. Some 83 percent have a "positive outlook."



The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index has three key components:

The Six-Month Economic Outlook, a measure of how consumers feel about the economy’s prospects in the next six months, rose to 57.5, the highest since Oct 2012.

The Personal Financial Outlook, a measure of how Americans feel about their own finances in the next six months was the only index to drop this month, decreasing by 0.3 percent, from 64.0 to 63.8.

Confidence in Federal Economic Policies, a measure of views on how government economic policies are working, rebounded this month with a 6.6 percent increase, from 45.7 to 48.7.

“Americans are upbeat because of Trump’s tax cuts, a month-long run-up in the stock market and a strong job market,” said Raghavan Mayur, president of TechnoMetrica, IBD's polling partner, in the release. “Plans by the corporate sector for increased investment and domestic expansion have boosted confidence. The theatrics surrounding the government shutdown had no impact on consumer sentiment.”

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com