Consumer sentiment in the U.S. improved by less than initially estimated in the month of May, according to a report released by the University of Michigan on Friday, although the consumer sentiment index remained at an eleven-month high.
The University of Michigan said the final reading on its consumer sentiment index for May came in at 94.7, reflecting a downward revision from the preliminary estimate of 95.8.
The downwardly revised index came in below economist estimates for a reading of 95.5 but was still well above the final April reading of 89.0.
Despite the downward revision, the May reading was also still the highest since the index reached 96.1 in June of last year.
Richard Curtin, the survey's chief economist, said, "Consumers were a bit less optimistic in late May than earlier in the month, but sentiment was still substantially higher than last month."
"Indeed, there have only been four prior months since the January 2007 peak in which the Sentiment Index was higher than in May 2016, all recorded at the start of 2015," he added.
The monthly increase by the headline index was partly due to a jump by the expectations index, which surged up to 84.9 in May from 77.6 in April.
With the substantial increase, the expectations index shot up to its highest level since reaching 87.8 in June of 2015.
The current economic conditions index also showed a notable increase, climbing to 109.9 in May from 106.7 in April.
On the inflation front, the one-year inflation outlook fell to 2.4 percent in May from 2.8 percent in April, while five-year inflation expectations held at 2.5 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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