Confidence in global prospects at 22-month high

SINGAPORE: Confidence in the world economy surged to a 22-month high in August on signs the worst global recession since World War II is approaching an end, a Bloomberg survey of users on six continents showed.

The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index jumped to 58.12 this month from 39.13 in July. It is the first time the reading exceeded 50, which means optimists outnumber pessimists. A measure of US participants' confidence in the world's largest economy rose to 47.3 from 29.5, the survey showed.

The survey of more than 2,300 Bloomberg users was conducted between Aug 3 and Aug 7. Since the previous survey, the US jobless rate declined, second-quarter growth in the US and China was better than expected, and the European Central Bank held interest rates at a record low.