Consumer Sentiment Rose in 1.4% in November

Ann Arbor, MI, November 30, 2015—Consumer sentiment rose 1.4% to 91.3 in November, according to final results from the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers.

This represents a 2.8% increase year over year.

“Although some of the gains recorded earlier in the month evaporated in late November, consumer confidence remained quite favorable, just below the average for the past six months 91.6,” explained Survey of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin. “Other than for the past twelve months, the Sentiment Index was higher in November than any time since the start of 2007. Nonetheless, the data indicate that consumers have become increasingly aware of economic cross currents in the domestic as well as the global economy. Nearly all of the recent advance was focused on current conditions rather than future economic prospects, and the entire November gain was due to lower income households. Households with incomes in the top third of the distribution, who account for more than half of all spending, expressed a more cautious optimism. This more guarded outlook reflected somewhat weaker personal financial prospects and a greater insistence that their purchases will be contingent on the availability of discounted prices and reduced interest rates. To be sure, the resilience of consumers has steadied the course of the macroeconomy during the past few years. Overall, the data are consistent with growth in real personal consumption spending of 2.8 in 2016."