The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index was up slightly in November, yet another increase from its 70.5 reading in October to a final reading of 71.8 in November, a 1.8% increase, according to the University of Michigan’s survey of consumers. The index also rose 17.1% year-over-year.
This is the fourth consecutive month of increases for the index. Previously, the index had risen beginning in August after five months of decline. The first two months of the year started out strong as well, with rises in January and February.
“Consumer sentiment was little changed this month, inching up 1.3 index points from October. In November, sentiment extended a four-month stretch of consecutive incremental increases,” explained Survey of Consumers Director Joanna Hsu.
She went on to elaborate that although the presidential election has reached its conclusion, the result continues to influence how consumers view the economy.
“Overall, the stability of national sentiment this month obscures discordant partisan patterns. In a mirror image of November 2020, the expectations index surged for Republicans and fell for Democrats this month, a reflection of the two groups’ incongruous views of how Trump’s policies will influence the economy.”
Hsu also explained that uncertainties over the new administration’s economic agenda contributed to the fact that consumers felt little change in current economic conditions.
“In contrast, current conditions saw insignificant changes this month across the political spectrum, consistent with the fact that the resolution of the election exerted little immediate impact on the current state of the economy. Ultimately, substantial uncertainty remains over the future implementation of Trump’s economic agenda, and consumers will continue to recalibrate their views in the months ahead,” she stated.
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