Consumer sentiment in the U.S. improved slightly less than initially estimated in the month of April, according to revised data released by the University of Michigan on Friday.
The report showed the consumer sentiment index for April was downwardly revised to 65.2 from the preliminary reading of 65.7. Nonetheless, the index is still sharply higher than the final March reading of 59.4.
Surveys of Consumers chief economist, Richard Curtin said the rebound from the previous month was concentrated in expectations, with the year-ahead outlook for the economy spiking by 21.6 percent and personal financial expectations surging by 18.3 percent.
“The cause was a sharp drop in gas price expectations, falling to just 0.4 cents from last month’s 49.6,” Curtin said. “The overall impact on sentiment trends, however, was quite small: other than the last two months, the Sentiment Index in April was still lower than in any prior month in the past decade.”
The report showed the index of consumer expectations shot up 62.5 in April from 54.3 in March, while the current economic conditions index rose to 69.4 from 67.2.
On the inflation front, one-year and five-year inflation expectations were unchanged at 5.4 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively.
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