via Myles Udland
In July, core inflation in the U.S. notched its biggest annual increase since September 2008.
In August, consumers noticed.
According to the University of Michigan’s first look at consumer sentiment in August released Friday, consumers’ assessment of current economic conditions declined due to, “much less favorable assessments of buying conditions, mainly due to less favorable perceptions of market prices.”
In other words, things got more expensive and consumers pulled back.
The University of Michigan’s headline consumer sentiment index slipped to 95.3 in the beginning of August, down from 97.9 at the end of July and the lowest reading in 11 months. The decline in consumers’ assessment of current economic conditions also declined to 107.8 from 11.4 in July, its lowest level in almost two years. Since Trump’s election, consumer confidence surveys have indicated consumers are feeling as good as they have since the early 2000s.
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