Gallup: Economic confidence recedes

Americans have grown less confident about the economy since this month’s election, Gallup said Tuesday.

The polling company’s economic confidence index took a slight tumble last week, to -15, but remains at one of its highest points all year. 

Gallup largely chalked up the decline in confidence to concerns over the so-called "fiscal cliff" and losses in the stock market. 

U.S. stocks began to increase on Friday after President Obama and congressional leaders from both parties said they had held a productive meeting on how to deal with the scheduled tax hikes and spending restraints set to hit early next year. The stock market finished Tuesday roughly level. 

Obama and Mitt Romney battled throughout much of their campaign over the economy, and Gallup had found that confidence generally had been on the rise in the weeks leading up to the election.

But Gallup said Tuesday that Americans’ assessment of both current conditions and the future of the economy had declined. Democrats and Republicans also remain badly split over where they think the economy is and is headed.

In all, roughly half of people in the U.S. think the economy is getting worse, with 44 percent saying it’s getting better. Around four in 10 currently think the economy is doing poorly, more than twice as many as think it’s doing excellent or good. 

“Although economic confidence in the U.S. in recent weeks has been at its highest since 2008, future improvement, including getting into positive territory anytime soon, likely hinges on the ability of Congress and the president to reach an agreement and avoid the fiscal cliff,” Gallup said. 

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