Consumer Sentiment rose 3.4 points in August to 96.8, according to the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. Last month’s figure is 7.8% higher than the August 2016 index.
The Current Economic Conditions Index fell 2.5 points to 110.9 but remained 3.9 points higher than the August 2016 estimate. The Consumer Expectations Index increased 7.2 points to 80.5 after falling 4.1 points in July’s estimate.
“Consumer confidence has remained at a very favorable level, although slipping somewhat from mid-month. The Sentiment Index has been higher during the first eight months of 2017 than in any year since 2000, which was the peak year of the longest expansion in U.S. history,” said Richard Curtin, chief economist of UM Surveys of Consumers. “The renewed strength in 2017 was mainly due to consumers’ favorable assessments of their own financial situations. Lows in unemployment, inflation, and interest rates, as well as renewed gains in the value of their homes and stock portfolios, pushed personal financial evaluations to near all-time peaks.”
Read the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers release.
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