US consumer sentiment climbs to highest since September 2021

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US consumer sentiment increased significantly in July, climbing to its highest level since September 2021, according to the University of Michigan's consumer survey preliminary results released Friday.

The index of consumer sentiment jumped 8.2 percentage points to 72.6 in July, from 64.4 in June, according to the preliminary results.

The market expectation for the index was to come in at 65.5.

"All components of the index improved considerably, led by a 19% surge in long-term business conditions and 16% increase in short-run business conditions," Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said in a statement.

"Overall, sentiment climbed for all demographic groups except for lower-income consumers. The sharp rise in sentiment was largely attributable to the continued slowdown in inflation along with stability in labor markets," she added.

Year-ahead inflation expectations, however, were little changed, rising from 3.3% in June to 3.4% in July, but down from the high point of 5.4% from April 2022.

The index of current economic conditions soared 8.5 points to 77.5 in July, from 69.0 in June, according to the survey results.

The index of consumer expectations increased 7.9 points to 69.4 from 61.5 during that period.