Obama’s approval rating climbs to highest point since 2013

President Obama’s approval rating reached 49 percent today, according to Rasmussen Reports. This reflects an increase from earlier this week, when Gallup reported the president’s approval rating was up to 48 percent, the highest it’s been since last year.

Rasmussen also found the president’s disapproval rating at 49 percent. Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport writes that the president’s latest job approval polls mark “the first time his approval-disapproval gap has not been negative since September of 2013.”

Approval for the president rose in the last few weeks, topping his average rating of 42 percent for 2014, Newport said.

Increasing voter confidence in Obama may be linked to improving prospects for the economy. Gross Domestic Product, the total dollar value of goods and services sold in the U.S., grew five percent during the third quarter of this year, CNN Money reported, the fastest since 2003. Job creation exceeded expectations when 321,000 jobs were added in November.

The upward trend could also be explained by increased favor among Hispanic voters, Gallup reported, whose support for Obama grew after his executive action on immigration last month.

Other possible factors pushing his approval rating up include the president’s historic change in tone towards Cuba and the U.S.-China climate deal reached in November, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Editor’s note: This post has been updated to correct the spelling of Frank Newport’s name.