US Consumer Sentiment Continues To Improve

U.S. consumer sentiments since last month indicate a slight upward trend toward greater confidence in the country’s economy. Courtney Schlisserman reports in the Bloomberg Press that projections by Reuters/University of Michigan on “Americans’ perceptions of their financial situation and whether it is a good time to buy big-ticket items like cars and homes” rose 5.2 points, and that consumer expectations for the economy in six months’ time shows anticipation of more than 4 points, to 69.2 just since consumer sentiments in August. While these numbers do not show a huge increase, they do indicate a turn towards optimism at the same time that consumers are more focused on careful spending and paying off debt.

Most economic analysts are tentatively encouraged by this news and even in the shadow of a 9.7 percent unemployment rate, results from a recent Bloomberg News’ survey shows a predicted 2.9 percent annual rate of growth for the U.S. economy through this month. This week's beige book summaries and other recent indications show second half growth accelerating.