University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment posted final February reading of 67.0, up from January's 64.9; consumers with larger stock holdings exhibited large increases in sentiment

February 24, 2023 (press release) –

Final Results for February 2023

Read our November 18th report, Five Patterns in Consumer Responses to Inflation.
Next data release: Friday, March 17, 2023 for Preliminary March data at 10am ET
Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu
Consumer sentiment confirmed the preliminary February reading, rising a modest 3% above January. After lifting for the third consecutive month, sentiment is now 17 index points above the all-time low from June 2022 but remains almost 20 points below its historical average. Consumers with larger stock holdings exhibited particularly large increases in sentiment. Overall, February’s reading was supported by a 12% improvement in the short-run economic outlook, while all other index components were essentially unchanged.

Year-ahead inflation expectations rebounded to 4.1% this month, from 3.9% in January and 4.4% in December. Consumers continued to exhibit considerable uncertainty over short-run inflation, and thus their expectations may be unstable in the months to come. Long-run inflation expectations remained at 2.9% for the third straight month and stayed within the narrow 2.9-3.1% range for 18 of the last 19 months.

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