ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 11, 2024 —The University of Michigan's Survey of Consumers showed a dampening effect on U.S. consumer sentiment this month. The Consumer Sentiment Index dropped from 70.1 in September to 68.9 this month. Though it still falls within the margin of error, the October reading fell short of the projected 70.9.
Joanne Hsu, director of Surveys of Consumers, claimed "sentiment is 8% stronger than a year ago and nearly 40% higher than the low reached in June 2022". Despite the progress made from last year, consumers are still under duress due to the inflationary pressures.
From 2.7% in the previous month, the survey showed year-end inflation rising to 2.9%. Moreover, the five-year anticipated inflation forecast though is somewhat down to 3.0% from 3.1%. Additionally, consumer sentiment surrounding the state of the U.S economy has dipped from 74.4 in September to 72.9, below the 75.0 consensus. Compared to the consensus of 64.3 , current conditions likewise fell to 62.7.
Therefore poll findings suggest that, inflation still has consumers sweating bullets, while significantly impacting economic mood even if consumers are less skeptical than a year ago.
