AM850.com

Some people may have noticed gas prices starting to go down. This may be the reason why a new University of Florida study shows consumer confidence among Floridians rose one point since last month. Survey Director at the U-F research center, Chris McCarty says two of the five components rose from last month. McCarty says this shows Floridians are hopeful about the housing market. He says, however, this slight increase doesn't mean we are in the clear. He says the slight decrease in the cost of oil may have boosted the consumer confidence index. Out of the five components, McCarty says three went down. One of the two components that went up was the perceptions as to whether it is a good time to buy big-ticket items, which rose nine points to 59. The other component that went up was perceptions of personal finances over the next year, which increased six points to 79.