Reflecting concerns about the prospects for the national economy, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday showing that U.S. consumer sentiment deteriorated by more than previously estimated in the month of October.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index for October was downwardly revised to 87.2 from the preliminary reading of 87.9. The index is down from September's final reading of 91.2.
The downward revision came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the consumer sentiment index to be upwardly revised to 88.5.
With the downward revision, the index matched the low recorded last September and has not been lower since October of 2014.
The drop by the headline index was partly due to a notable decline by the index of consumer expectations, which slumped to 76.8 in October from 82.7 in September.
Richard Curtin, the survey's chief economist, noted that half of all consumers now anticipate an economic downturn sometime in the next five years.
"Objectively, the probability of a downturn during the next five years is far from zero-this would be the longest expansion in 150 years if it lasted just over half of the five year horizon," Curtin said.
He added, "Nonetheless, the October rise may simply reflect a temporary bout of uncertainty caused by the election."
The index of current economic conditions showed a more modest decrease, edging down to 103.2 in October from 104.2 in September.
On the inflation front, the report said one-year inflation expectations held at 2.4 percent, while the five-year inflation outlook fell to 2.4 percent in October from 2.6 percent in September.
by RTT Staff Writer
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