Mass. Consumer Confidence Way Up

Mass Insight Corp.'s Massachusetts Consumer Confidence Index jumped 27 points to 65 in April, hitting its highest point since October of 2007.

The sudden increase follows an all-time low of 38 in January, but the April number remains well below the neutral point of 100. The index last broke into positive territory in October 2006.

The new number puts confidence of Massachusetts consumers well above the U.S. level of 39 and the New England level of 32, as calculated by the Conference Board.

In a separate national survey, small businesses said they were more optimistic about the economy in April than they had been since November.

The "optimism index" from the National Federation of Independent Business hit 86.8, up 5.8 points from March. By far the largest contributors to the improvement were expectations of economic improvement and expected improvements in real sales.

Mass Insight is a Boston-based firm that organizes public-private initiatives on competitive issues in the state. NFIB represents U.S. small and independent businesses.