Consumer confidence in the U.S. rose in February to a three-month high, which may help to preserve recent gains in household spending, Bloomberg reports.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment climbed to 76.3 this month from 73.8 in January. The gauge was projected to rise to 74.8, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey. 

Increased property values, a strengthening job market and stocks at five-year highs are providing a boost to Americans’ balance sheets.