Recent Updates
- US: New Residential Construction (May)
- US: New Residential Construction (May)
- Japan: Semiconductor Mfg Equipment Billings (May)
- Italy: Construction Production & Construction Cost Indexes (Apr)
- France: Imported Raw Materials Prices (May)
- Namibia: GDP (Q1); Egypt: Foreign Trade Summary (Apr); Angola: WPI (May)
- Greece: Turnover Index (Apr)
- Sweden: LFS, Hours Worked (May); Iceland: Building Cost Index
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Energy Prices Are Mixed
Retail gasoline prices slipped to $2.88 per gallon last week (+24.2% y/y)...
U.S. Home Builder Index Backpedals
The Composite Housing Market Index from the NAHB-Wells Fargo fell 2.9% (+3.0% y/y) to 68 during June ...
Japan's Loses Its Trade Surplus
In May, Japan has logged its second trade deficit in 13 months and only its third in the last 28 months...
U.S. Industrial Production Slips Unexpectedly
The Federal Reserve reported that industrial production eased 0.1% (+3.5% y/y) during May...
Empire State Manufacturing Index Continues to Strengthen
The Empire State Manufacturing Index of General Business Conditions rose to 25.0 during June, the highest level in eight months...
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 |
