Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Decreased in May to Six-Month Low
by Victoria Stilwell
10:00 AM EDT
May 29, 2015
Consumer confidence in the U.S. fell to a six-month low in May as Americans became less sanguine about the prospects for the economy.
The University of Michigan said Friday that its final index of sentiment for the month decreased to 90.7 from 95.9 in April. It marked the biggest decline since the end of 2012. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 89.5 after a preliminary May reading of 88.6.
Household concerns that the economy is stumbling and wages will be slow to increase combined to depress spirits at the same time gradually rising gas prices took a bit more of consumers’ incomes. Continued improvement in the labor market that includes greater job security probably needs to be accompanied by pay gains to encourage more spending and propel growth.
“The index is still quite high,” Richard Curtin, director of the Michigan Survey of Consumers, said on a conference call after the figures were released. During the last half of the month, “I expected confidence to inch upward and I still think that is likely over the months ahead.”
Estimates in the Bloomberg survey of 62 economists ranged from 86 to 95.5. The index average 84.1 last year.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-29/consumer-sentiment-in-u-s-decreased-in-may-to-a-six-month-low
