Reuters/Ipsos poll: Americans more optimistic about future

Americans are becoming more hopeful about the future of the country, providing a boost to President Barack Obama as the race to the White House intensifies in the final two-month stretch, a Reuters/Ipsos poll indicated on Wednesday.

The telephone poll, carried out September 7 to 10, showed 39 percent of Americans thought the country was moving in the right direction, compared to 55 percent who believed it was heading down the wrong path.

The numbers represent a substantial change from August, when 31 percent believed the country was on the right track compared to 64 percent who thought otherwise.

Wednesday’s figures were the highest level for the "right direction" rating since April 2010.

The numbers are a positive sign for the Democratic incumbent, who marginally leads against Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney ahead of the November 6 election.

When asked which candidate they would vote for if the election were held today, 48 percent of those polled said they would vote for Obama while 45 percent said they would cast their ballot for Romney.

Obama's overall approval rating has remained more or less stagnant. Half of those surveyed approved of how the president was handling his job, compared with 49 percent last month.

The poll was conducted by telephone with 1,089 adults and has an accuracy rate of 3.1 percentage points.