SINGAPORE - Consumers here and in most of South-east Asia are more optimistic about the economic outlook, compared to a year ago, according to the latest MasterCard Index of Consumer Confidence.

Sentiment among local consumers rose 13.5 points from a year ago to 60.9.

The index uses zero as the most pessimistic and 100 as the most optimistic measure, and the latest results are based on an online survey between October and November 2014, of 411 Singapore residents.

Respondents were asked to give a six-month outlook on the economy, employment prospects, regular income prospects, the local stock market and their quality of life.

The largest improvement came from heightened expectations in quality of life (+19.3), followed by stock market movements (+15.5) and general economic outlook (+13.9).

"Compared to our neighbours in Southeast Asia, Singapore recorded the highest jump in overall consumer confidence. Resilient economic growth, stable employment, along with falling oil prices and the strengthening Singapore dollar are reasons for the consumer optimism," said Ms Deborah Heng, group head and general manager of MasterCard Singapore.

Despite the higher score, Singapore ranks sixth out of seven markets surveyed in Southeast Asia, above Malaysia, which recorded a neutral outlook at 49.9 points.

Myanmar topped the list with 97.2 points, followed by Indonesia (90.1), Vietnam (85.3), Thailand (83.6) and the Philippines (77.1).