UMich: February Consumer Sentiment Slides

February 15, 2016  by in Economic News, Industry   

The index of current economic conditions was 105.8, a 0.6 percent decline from 106.4 last month. The consumer expectations index dropped 2.1 percent to 81 from 82.7 last month.

“Consumers anticipated the lowest long-term inflation rate since this question was first asked in the late 1970s,” said Richard Curtin, chief economist for the Surveys of Consumers. “No one would have guessed 40 years ago, when high inflation was the chief cause of pessimism, that consumers would someday base their optimism on ultra-low inflation transforming meager wages into real income gains.”

Curtin said the data show that real consumption expenditures can be expected to climb by 2.7 percent this year.