Global consumer confidence measured an index level of 94 in Q3 2013, flat from Q2, but sentiment brightened notably in the U.S. and Europe. While unchanged from Q2, the global index level was up two points from 3Q 2012. In the latest round of the survey, consumer confidence increased in more than half (57%) of the markets Nielsen measures, compared with less than half (45%) in the previous quarter.

Confidence in the U.S. jumped eight points to an index of 98 from the same period 12 months ago, while sentiment in Europe rose three points to 74, according to Nielsen’s latest Global Survey of Consumer Confidence. Consumer confidence in the U.S. was the highest it’s been in six years (since Q3 2007) and neared pre-recession levels, and the rise in Europe was the biggest quarter-on-quarter increase since Q1 2010—it was also an improvement from three consecutive quarters where confidence was fixed at 71.