After initially reporting no change in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of September, the University of Michigan released revised data on Friday showing a bigger than expected improvement in consumer sentiment during the month.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index for September was upwardly revised to 91.2 from the preliminary reading of 89.8.
The final reading on the consumer sentiment index for September is up from 89.8 in August and above economist estimates for a reading of 90.1.
"Confidence edged upward in September due to gains among higher income households, while the Sentiment Index among households with incomes under $75,000 has remained at exactly the same level for the third consecutive month," said Richard Curtin, the survey's chief economist.
He added, "Importantly, the data provide no evidence of an upward trend, as the average level of the Sentiment Index since the start of 2016 is nearly identical with the September level (91.4 versus 91.2)."
The increase by the headline index was due to an improvement in consumer expectations, as the expectations index jumped to 82.7 in September from 78.7 in August.
On the other hand, the report said the index of current economic conditions fell to 104.2 in September from 107.0 in the previous month.
The University of Michigan also said one-year inflation expectations dipped to 2.4 percent in September from 2.5 percent in August, while the five-year inflation outlook rose to 2.6 percent from 2.5 percent.
"The larger recent gains among upper income households was partly due to continued declines in their inflation expectations," Curtin said.
by RTT Staff Writer
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