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Sept 17 (Reuters) – U.S. consumer sentiment steadied in early September after plunging the month before to its lowest level in nearly a decade, but consumers still have a bleak view of the outlook amid a stiff bout of inflation, a survey showed on Friday.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index edged up to 71 within the half of September from 70.3 in August – rock bottom since December 2011. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a reading of 72 Assessments of current conditions slipped further, to 77.1 from 78.5 in August, while the survey’s forward-looking expectations index ticked up to 67.1 from 65.1, which had been rock bottom since 2013.
“The steep August falloff in consumer sentiment led to early September, but the tiny gain still meant that buyers expected the smallest amount favorable economic prospects in additional than a decade,” the survey’s director, Richard Curtin, said during a statement Consumers’ views of inflation remain elevated, although they seem to possess stopped charging higher as they did over the summer when key official gauges of price increases hit their highest levels in years.
The survey’s one-year inflation outlook ticked copy to 4.7% this month to match July’s reading, which had been the very best since 2008, from 4.6% in August. The five-year outlook, meanwhile, held steady at 2.9%.
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