Seems Americans as a whole are more confident about their economic prospects, despite Europe's troubles, and China's slowdown in growth. This is a good sign for the United States. Unfortunately, the systemic risk from decreases in Chinese economic growth, and the possible reverberations from the sovereign debt crisis still are just over the horizon.
Check correlation of stronger dollar against lower gas prices. Sentiment comes hand in hand. Something TPTB won't stand for.
I am certain appreciation of the United States dollar and lower gas prices are attributing to the increase in consumer sentiment. Either way, this is a good sign for the economy.