Consumer Sentiment declined in November to 76.9, according to the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. November’s figure is 21.7 points below the November 2019 index. The Current Economic Conditions Index rose 1.3 points to 87.0 but the reading is 24.6 points below the November 2019 index. The Consumer Expectations Index fell 8.7 points to 70.5 and was 16.8 points lower than a year ago.
“The November data were less optimistic than last month due to the resurgence in covid infections and deaths as well as partisan shifts due to the outcome of the presidential election. For the first time since Trump entered office, Democrats rather than Republicans held a more optimistic economic outlook. The steep rise in covid infections had a greater impact on Democrats as 59% of Democrats reported that the coronavirus had changed their lives to a great extent compared with just 36% among Republicans. In the months ahead, if infections and deaths rise as anticipated, further declines in optimism are likely. The anticipated declines, however, will be tempered by the approval of several vaccines by the end of the year” said Richard Curtin, chief economist of UM Surveys of Consumers.
Read the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers release.
