Consumer Sentiment Up From July

Ann Arbor, MI, Aug. 27, 2010--U.S. consumer sentiment in late August improved from late July, according to Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers.

The modest pickup in consumer mood came after a drop in July to the lowest level since November.
 
The survey's final August reading on the overall index of consumer sentiments was 68.9, below the 69.6 earlier this month but above the 67.8 at the end of July.

Analysts had expected a final August figure of 69.6.

"The good news is that consumers have shown some resilience in the face of slowing economic growth and the media's double-dip drumbeat," Richard Curtin, director of the surveys, said in a press release.

"The bad news is that consumers expect lackluster income and job growth for an extended period of time," he added.

While an outright decline in consumer spending -- which drives nearly 70 percent of the U.S. economy -- is unlikely, the chances for a double-dip recession is now "uncomfortably high" at 25 percent, Curtin said.