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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 August 31, 2012
The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment for August rose to 74.3 from an unrevised 72.3 in July. The figure also was up from the mid-August reading of 73.6. The latest number beat expectations for 73.8. During the last ten years there has been a 60% correlation between the level of sentiment and the three-month change in real personal consumption expenditures. A rebound in the Current Conditions index to 88.7 from 82.7 accounted for the August rise in Consumer Sentiment. The Consumer Expectations component slipped m/m to 65.1, still its lowest since December.
The Reuters/University of Michigan survey data are not seasonally adjusted. The readings are based on telephone interviews with over 300 households. Data can be found in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure is from Action Economics and is found in Haver's AS1REPNA database.
Monetary Policy since the Onset of the Crisis is the title of today's speech by Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and it is available here.
| University of Michigan (Q1'66 = 100) |
Aug | Jul | Jun | Aug'11 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Sentiment | 74.3 | 72.3 | 73.2 | 55.8 | 67.3 | 71.8 | 66.3 |
| Current Economic Conditions | 88.7 | 82.7 | 81.5 | 68.5 | 79.1 | 80.9 | 69.6 |
| Consumer Expectations | 65.1 | 65.6 | 67.8 | 47.6 | 59.8 | 66.0 | 64.1 |
