University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index improves in December
US consumer sentiment improved in December, according to the University of Michigan's final December consumer sentiment index.
The Michigan sentiment index increased to 70.6 from 67.4 in November but was down from 80.7 in December 2020.
The index of current economic conditions came in at 74.2 in December, up from 73.6 the month before but weaker than the 90.0 print registered in December last year, while the gauge for consumer expectations printed at 68.3 versus 63.5 in November and 74.6 in the same month a year ago.
The increase was primarily due to significant gains among households with incomes in the bottom third of the distribution, with the bottom third expecting their incomes to rise during the year ahead by 2.8%, up from 1.8% last December, and the highest level since 2.9% was recorded in 1999.