The Consumer Comfort Index advanced to a new pandemic peak this week, boosted by markedly improved ratings of the buying climate and the national economy. The results are a sharp pivot from last week, when the index sustained its first significant decline of the year.

In a quick reversal from last week’s 1.5-point drop, the CCI is up 1.8 points to 55.6 on its 0-100 scale, narrowly surpassing its previous pandemic high of 55.3 two weeks ago. The index has gained 11.2 points since the start of the year – already 4.2 points more than its largest yearly gain in 35 years of weekly data.

Americans’ ratings of the buying climate rebounded by 2.6 points, nearly erasing last week’s 2.9-point decline, its largest single-week drop since the onset of the pandemic last spring. At 48.8, the subindex is essentially even with its pandemic high of 49.2 in late April, up 7.7 points since the start of the year and 20.0 points from its pandemic low roughly a year ago.

Ratings of the national economy also improved, up 2.2 points this week in their largest one-week gain since February. With the advance, the subindex is up a broad 27.4 points since last May, including 15.9 points just this year, to 49.9 – a pandemic high.

The CCI’s third gauge, based on Americans’ ratings of their personal finances, held steady at 68.1, essentially unchanged from its pandemic high of 68.8 two weeks ago. The subindex has completely recovered from its sharp dive at the onset of the pandemic and is just 3.1 points short of its all-time high in January 2020.

The up and down shifts in the index may reflect two competing forces – rising inflation, including gasoline prices, on one side; improving employment on the other, with new jobless claims at a pandemic low this week.