Recent Updates
- Thailand: Reserve Money (Nov)
- China: International Trade (Nov)
- US: Public Debt (Nov), Consumer Sentiment (Dec-prelim), Employment Situation (Nov)
- Global Sector PMI (Nov)
- Consumer Sentiment Detail (Dec-prelim)
- US Sector PMI (Nov)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
Wholesale Inventories Grow While Sales Decline
Wholesale inventories increased 0.8% month-on-month (6.9% year-over-year) during October...
U.S. Consumer Credit Usage Expands
Consumer credit outstanding increased $25.38 billion during October...
German IP Takes Surprising October Slip
Germany's industrial production slowed to a gain of only 0.1% in September then dropped by 0.5% in October...
U.S. Trade Deficit Widens to 10-Year High; Record Goods Shortfall
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened for the fifth consecutive month to $55.49 billion in October...
U.S. ADP Private Sector Payroll Growth Eases
The ADP National Employment Report indicated that private nonfarm payrolls increased 179,000 during November...
by Tom Moeller October 12, 2007
The University of Michigan's preliminary reading of consumer sentiment in early October fell 1.7% to 82.0 after no change in September and a huge 7.7% drop in August. The decline exceeded Consensus expectations for a reading of 84.0.
Lower consumer expectations accounted for all of the fall. The decline offset a slight improvement in September.
Long term, expectations about personal finances and business conditions during the next year fell for the sixth month this year out of ten. Expectations about business conditions rose slightly but hardly offset huge declines in the prior two months.
The view of the current economic conditions improved due to a slight increase in the view of current personal finances. The perspective of current buying conditions also improved slightly.
The assessment of government policy in October recovered the declines during the prior two months.
The University of Michigan survey is not seasonally adjusted.The reading is based on telephone interviews with about 500 households at month-end.
| University of Michigan | October (Prelim.) | September | October y/y | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Sentiment | 82.0 | 83.4 | -12.4% | 87.3 | 88.5 | 95.2 |
| Current Conditions | 98.2 | 97.9 | -8.5% | 105.1 | 105.9 | 105.6 |
| Expectations | 71.6 | 74.1 | -15.6% | 75.9 | 77.4 | 88.5 |
