- Consumer sentiment in US improves slightly in December.
- US Dollar Index stays deep in the negative territory.
The Consumer Sentiment Index in the US rose modestly from 76.9 in November to 80.7 (final) in December, the University of Michigan’s latest Surveys of Consumers showed on Friday. This reading came in lower than the market expectation and the previous estimate of 81.3.
Further details of the publication showed that the Current Economic Conditions Index rose to 90 from 87 and the Index of Consumer Expectations edged higher to 74.6 from 70.5.
Commenting on the data, “while the rollout of the vaccine has been greeted as the beginning of the end, the end of the pandemic is still on the distant horizon in terms of a return to normalcy for consumer behavior, even among the most favored households,” said Surveys of Consumers chief economist, Richard Curtin. “Precautionary motives will continue to shape both economic and personal behavior.”
Market reaction
The greenback remains on the back foot after this report and the US Dollar Index was last seen losing 0.5% on the day at 90.20.