After a six year high, consumer sentiment in the United States fell in August despite being upbeat in their outlook in the early part of the month. This was confirmed by a survey just recently released.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's overall index on consumer sentiment dropped to 82.1 for August after a high of 85.1 in July this year. The final result though kept above the mid-month level of 80.0 and also slightly higher than economists' expectations of 80.5.
According to survey director Richard Curtin through a statement, "Most of the late August gain was due more to favorable income expectations with consumers expecting the largest income gains in nearly five years, although the median expected increase was just 0,9 percent, less than the expected rate of inflation."
Households with incomes below USD75,000 though have grown more pessimistic of the future. All households surveyed expected higher interest rates in the next year with slight slow growth.
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