Even with the pressure of the holiday season, consumers are feeling better this month. Consumer sentiment improved from November, thanks to growth in personal incomes and the possibility of a light at the end of the job market tunnel. The latest Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers report puts the December consumer sentiment index at 72.5, its highest level since September. In November, the index reached only 67.4 -- up substantially from 60.1 a year ago.
Nonetheless, the latest result didn't meet analysts' median expectation of 73.5 and came in under the preliminary figure of 73.4.
In a statement, Richard Curtin, director of the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, said, "Consumers' evaluations of their personal finances improved slightly in December, but the gains still left their overall assessments at quite negative levels."
The index measuring economic conditions increased to 78 from 68.8 in November but also failed to reach the anticipated level of 79.1. Consumer expectations went from 66.5 to 68.9 but fell short of the anticipated level of 69.7. And, one-year inflation is reported to have declined from 2.7% to 2.5% from November to December, with longer-term inflation dropping from 3% to 2.7%.
Even consumers believe that we still have a long way to go. Since that's where 70% of the U.S. economy happens, this is a group of people worth listening to.
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