Staff members install red lanterns inside Dallas' Galleria mall in Dallas, Texas, the United States, Jan. 31, 2024. (Photo by Dan Tian/Xinhua)
For the second consecutive month, there was a broad consensus of higher sentiment across age, income, education and geography.
CHICAGO, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Consumer Sentiment Index released Friday by the University of Michigan (UM) Surveys of Consumers rose to 79.0 in the January 2024 survey, up from 69.7 in December and above the 64.9 in January 2023.
The Current Index rose to 81.9, up from 73.3 in December and above last January's 68.5. The Expectations Index rose to 77.1, up from 67.4 in December and above the previous January's 62.6.
UM consumer sentiment soared 13 percent in January to reach its highest level since July 2021, primarily on the basis of an improving outlook over inflation and personal incomes, according to UM Surveys of Consumers.
Over the last two months, sentiment has climbed a cumulative 29 percent, the largest two-month increase since 1991.
Sentiment has risen nearly 60 percent above the all-time low measured in June 2022 and is 7 percent shy of the historical average reading since 1978.
For the second consecutive month, there was a broad consensus of higher sentiment across age, income, education and geography. Less than one-third of consumers expect unemployment rates to rise in the year ahead, compared with 41 percent a year ago. Stock market expectations are at their strongest in over two years.
People walk at the National Mall during a snowfall in Washington, D.C., the United States, Jan. 15, 2024. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua)
Consumers also exhibited more confidence in their own personal prospects, with a rising share of consumers expecting improvements in financial situations in the next year. Over half of consumers expect their incomes to grow at least as fast as inflation, the highest share since July 2021.
Nevertheless, consumers are currently split about precisely how strong economic prospects are in January. About 41 percent of consumers expect good times in the year ahead for business conditions, while 48 percent expect bad times.
With considerable uncertainty on the horizon from continued conflict in the Middle East and the looming election, these differences in perceptions may persist.
"Over the last two months, consumers have finally felt assured that their worst fears for the economy would not come to pass," said UM economist Joanne Hsu, director of the Surveys of Consumers. "This is not to say, however, that consumers as a whole are feeling sanguine about the economy; nearly half still expect challenging times for the economy in the year ahead."
The Surveys of Consumers is a rotating panel survey based on a nationally representative sample that gives each household in the coterminous United States an equal probability of being selected. Interviews are conducted throughout the month by telephone. ■
