The rapid rise in Utah's Consumer Attitude Index for June slowed a bit from last month only because it’s nearly as high as it can go.
“Once you hit that 110 number, you typically do flatten out,” says Randy Shumway, an economic advisor for Zions Bank. He’s also the CEO of the Cicero Group which does the CAI survey for Zions. The number for June was actually 111.8. That’s up just 0.4 points from May. Shumway says any amount higher than 110 shows Utahns feel the economy is running strong.
“We’re very fortunate that finally the U.S. economy,” says Shumway, “in terms of consumer confidence, has grown above the hundred point mark.”
Shumay says last year the oil boom had North Dakota as the fastest growing economy in the United States but now Utah has that spot and North Dakota isn’t even in the top 10.
“And the fact that we’re as diversified as we are and yet growing as quickly as we are, really bodes well for the state of Utah,” Shumway says.
Utah ranks 4th in economic diversity according to Shumway. He says inflation in the state and nation remains flat but he says the majority of Utahns believe home and gas prices will rise according to the Cicero Group survey.