SALT LAKE CITY — Wasatch Front consumers continue to have a favorable opinion of the local economic outlook, according to the February Zions Bank Consumer Attitude Index.

The index climbed 0.6 points to 96.8 from January to February — the fourth consecutive month of increase. On the national level, the Consumer Confidence Index fell 1.3 points to 78.1 over the same period.

Speaking Tuesday at the monthly economic news conference, Zions Bank economic adviser Randy Shumway explained that consumers in Utah have a greater sense of economic stability than people in other states.

“Ninety percent of Utahns believe their house will be worth more or the same six months from today,” Shumway said. “There is confidence in the real estate market.”

Utah’s labor market has shown strong improvement over the past few months, the report stated. The jobless rate declined for the third straight month and now sits at 4.1 percent. But in February, consumer attitudes regarding labor were mixed.

The report showed that 26 percent of Utahns believe available jobs in their area are plentiful — up 4 percentage points from the previous month, while 21 percent of Utahns consider jobs in their area hard to get — down 3 percentage points.

As consumer attitudes have increased recently, Shumway pointed out that prices for goods could also be on the rise.

Over the past year, consumer prices have increased in Utah by 1.8 percent. By comparison, the national Consumer Price Index, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, rose 1.6 percent over the past 12 months, he explained.

Consumers paid more for food from grocery stores this month, with food at home prices increasing 0.7 percent month-over-month, the report stated. Produce prices have moved significantly higher for the third straight month due in part to challenging weather conditions, including cold and frost in some winter fruit- and vegetable-growing states and in South America.

Shumway said a historic cold snap in Latin America would likely have a major impact on local food prices in the coming months.

“(It is) the worst frost in 80 years in the country of Chile, a heavy exporter to the United States of fruits and vegetables,” Shumway said.

The continuing drought in California likely will also drive produce prices higher later this year, he added.

Overall beef prices also jumped about 3 percent in the past month in Utah, Shumway said.

“This reflects national trends, as choice-grade beef prices are up over 15 percent year-over-year in national commodity markets,” he said.

The report stated that U.S. beef production could hit a 20-year low in 2014, due largely to a three-year drought in key beef production states including Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.

“Because of these factors, the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts overall beef prices will increase 3 to 4 percent this year and continue to hover around all-time highs,” Shumway said.

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The price of driving was also up in February, according to AAA Utah, with drivers in the Beehive State paying about $3.18 per gallon of gasoline — up from $3.09 last week.

Looking ahead, the seasonal increase in gasoline prices that generally occurs in the springtime will likely be more moderate this year, the report stated.

“This will be unlike the previous three years, when consumers have seen sharp spikes in gasoline prices during the spring months due to geopolitical production concerns and domestic supply interruptions,” Shumway said. “Because of with fewer substantial supply interruptions, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that the average price for a gallon of gasoline will be $3.44 in 2014 — down from $3.51 in 2013 and $3.63 in 2012.”

Among the other economic indicators in the report that track consumer sentiment, the Zions Bank Present Situation Index – an assessment of confidence in current business and employment conditions — rose 4.8 points to 93.5, compared with the national Present Situation Index, which increased 4.4 points to 81.7.

Meanwhile, the Zions Bank Expectations Index — an estimate of consumer confidence in the economy six months from now — declined 2.2 points to 99 points, compared with the national Expectations Index, which dropped 5.1 points to 75.7.

The Zions Bank Consumer Attitude Index is based on a representative sample of 500 Utah households. The monthly survey is conducted by The Cicero Group and has a confidence interval of plus or minus 4.38 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.

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