Consumer Behavior

U.S. consumer sentiment on a slow climb

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August 23, 2022

U.S. consumer sentiment continued to rise this month after a record low point earlier in the summer, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The data is from the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index that polls consumers on the state of the economy. The early August estimate rose 3.6 index points, hitting 55.1. The July index reading was 51.5.

The news comes at a time when inflation is easing a small bit but consumers remain concerned about rising costs.

"The slowdown in inflation is probably constructive for consumer sentiment," Aditya Bhave, U.S. and global economist at Bank of America, told the WSJ.