U.S. Consumer Sentiment Unexpectedly Deteriorates In August

(RTTNews) - Consumer sentiment in the U.S. has unexpectedly deteriorated in the month of August, according to a preliminary report released by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan on Friday.

The report showed that the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for August fell to 79.2 compared to the final July reading of 81.8.

The pullback came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the consumer sentiment index to inch up to a reading of 82.3.

"While the data implies differential prospects for retailers, consumer confidence remains at moderately positive levels, high enough to support a continued expansion in personal consumption during the year ahead," survey director Richard Curtin said, according to Reuters.

The unexpected drop by the headline index was partly due to a decrease by the survey's gauge of consumer expectations, which fell to 66.2 in August from 71.8 in July.

On the other hand, the report said the barometer of current economic conditions climbed to 99.6 in August from 97.4 in the previous month.

The survey's one-year inflation expectation also rose to 3.4 percent in August from 3.3 percent in July, while the five-to-10-year inflation outlook ticked up to 2.8 percent from 2.7 percent.