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Economy in Brief
U.S. Gasoline & Crude Oil Prices Continue to Rise
Retail gasoline prices increased to $2.55 per gallon (-1.9% y/y)...
ZEW's Global Assessments Remain Weak
ZEW survey expectations curled higher this month but continued to stake out very weak readings...
U.S. Home Builder Sentiment Remains Improved
The NAHB-Wells Fargo Composite Housing Market Index held steady at 62 during March...
EMU Trade Surplus Expands on Weak Import Rise
In the EMU, both import and export gains were modest in January...
U.S. JOLTS: Job Openings Remain Abundant
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the total job openings rate increased to 4.8% during January...
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 |
