Consumer Sentiment declined 0.8 points in May to 98.0, according to the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. May’s figure is 0.9% above the May 2017 index.
The Current Economic Conditions Index slowed 3.1 points to 114.9. The reading was 0.1% above the May 2017 estimate. The Consumer Expectations Index rose 0.7 points to 89.5 and was 1.6% higher than a year ago.
“Consumer sentiment slipped by less than an Index-point from last month. Since Trump’s election, the Sentiment Index has meandered in a tight eight-point range from 93.4 to 101.4, with the small month-to-month variations indicating no emerging trend,” said Richard Curtin, chief economist of UM Surveys of Consumers. “Consumers have remained focused on expected gains in jobs and incomes as well as anticipated increases in interest rates and inflation during the year ahead. As past expansions have shown, rising interest rates do not suppress spending gains as long as they are accompanied by more substantial increases in incomes.”
Read the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers release.
