U.S. Consumer Sentiment Rebounds More Than Expected In October

(RTTNews) - After reporting a notable deterioration in U.S consumer sentiment in the previous month, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday showing that sentiment has improved much more than anticipated in the month of October.

The University of Michigan said the preliminary reading on its consumer sentiment index for October came in at 92.1 compared to the final September reading of 87.2. Economists had expected the index to rise to 89.5.

Richard Curtin, the survey's chief economist, said, "The rebound in confidence signifies that consumers have concluded that the fears expressed on Wall Street did not extend to Main Street."

"Importantly, the renewed confidence did not simply represent a relief rally, but instead reflected renewed optimism," he added.

The bigger than expected increase by the headline index reflected significant improvements in both the assessment of current conditions and consumer expectations.

The current economic conditions index jumped to 106.7 in October from 101.2 in September, while the index of consumer expectations climbed to 82.7 from 78.2.

On the inflation front, the report said five-to-ten-year inflation expectations dipped to 2.6 percent in October from 2.7 percent in September.