Public confidence in the economy remains high.

According to University of Michigan researchers, public confidence is higher now than it has been for most of the past 20 years despite a slowdown in consumer spending in the fourth quarter of last year. Demand for homes, automobiles and household durable goods will flatten somewhat this year as consumers delay buying in anticipation of better deals, the university’s Institute for Social Research said in its survey of consumer attitudes. The institute’s index of consumer sentiment, based on responses from 1,955 people polled from Oct. 1 to Dec. 23, registered 91.1, down slightly from 92.8 in the third quarter. The index has a February, 1966, base of 100.