Financial News: U.S. Consumer Sentiment Deteriorates Slightly Less Than Es

U.S. Consumer Sentiment Deteriorates Slightly Less Than Estimated In August

(RTTNews) - Consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated by slightly less than previously estimated in the month of August, according to revised data released by the University of Michigan on Friday.

The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index for August was upwardly revised to 51.7 from a preliminary reading of 51.0.

The upward revision surprised economists, who had expected the index to be unrevised, although the revised reading is still down from 55.2 in July.

"Sentiment declines in August were seen for all political groups and were particularly acute among Republicans," said Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu.

She added, "Moreover, groups who are typically less-equipped to absorb increases in cost of living also exhibited stronger decreases in sentiment, including older consumers, lower- and middle-income consumers, and those with no stock holdings."

The University of Michigan said the current economic conditions index slumped to 51.9 in August from 54.8 in July, while the index of consumer expectations tumbled to 51.5 in August from 55.4 in July.

With regard to inflation expectations, the report said year-ahead inflation expectations dipped to 4.0 percent in August from 4.2 percent but still substantially exceed the 3.4 percent seen in February before the Iran conflict began

Long-run inflation expectations held steady at 3.3 percent for the third consecutive month, remaining a bit higher than the 2024 range of 2.8 to 3.2 percent, the University of Michigan said.

"With ongoing policy uncertainty including the Iran conflict, consumers anticipate further increases in gasoline prices both in the short and long run," said Hsu.

On Tuesday, the Conference Board released a separate report showing a modest decrease in consumer confidence in the month of August.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index dipped to 89.4 in August from a downwardly revised 90.2 in July.

Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to edge down to 90.1 from the 90.8 originally reported for the previous month.

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