Updated: 13-Oct-17 10:43 ET

October Mich Sentiment

Updated: 13-Oct-17 10:43 ET

Highlights

• The preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for October checked in at 101.1 (Briefing.com consensus 95.6), which was up from 95.1 in September and the highest reading for the index since the start of 2004.

Key Factors

• Consumers in general anticipate low unemployment, low inflation, small increases in interest rates, and modest income gains in the year ahead. According to the report provider, consumer attitudes reflect a sense that economic prospects are about as good as could be expected.
• The Current Economic Conditions Index jumped to 116.4 from 111.7 in September
• The Index of Consumer Expectations increased to 91.3 from 84.4

Big Picture

• The key takeaway from the report is that the positive sentiment occurred among all age and income groups and across all partisan viewpoints. That should presumably bode well for consumer spending, which is the most important driver of GDP growth.

Category	OCT	SEP	AUG	JUL	JUN
Sentiment	101.1	95.1	96.8	93.4	95.1
Outlook	91.3	84.4	87.7	80.5	83.9
Present conditions	116.4	111.7	110.9	113.4	112.5