Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Falls to Lowest Since December

Consumer sentiment (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Confidence among U.S. consumers declined in June to the lowest level this year as Americans grew more pessimistic about prospects for the economy. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of sentiment fell to 73.2 this month from 79.3 in May. The gauge was projected to hold at the preliminary reading of 74.1, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The Michigan survey’s index of current conditions asks Americans whether they’re better off than they were a year ago and if they think it’s a good time to buy big-ticket items like cars. In June that measure dropped to 81.5 from 87.2.

The index of consumer expectations for six months from now, which more closely projects the direction of consumer spending, decreased to 67.8 from 74.3, which was the highest since July 2007. Read more >>