Survey of Consumers: Consumer Sentiment Falls, Misses Expectations in April

The Survey of Consumers on Friday said their closely-watched gauge of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan slipped to 89.7 in April, down from a March reading of 91.0.

The results missed the median forecast, as economists polled by Reuters anticipated a rise to 92.0 for the month.

“Consumer confidence continued its slow overall decline in early April, marking the fourth consecutive monthly decline,” said Surveys of Consumers chief economist, Richard Curtin. “To be sure, the sizes of the recent losses have been quite small, with the Sentiment Index falling just 2.9 Index-points since December 2015, although it was down 6.2 Index-points from a year ago and 8.4 points below the peak in January 2015. None of these declines indicate an impending recession, although concerns have risen about the resilience of consumers in the months ahead.”

“Consumers reported a slowdown in expected wage gains, weakening inflation-adjusted income expectations, and growing concerns that slowing economic growth would reduce the pace of job creation,” Mr. Curtin added. “These apprehensions should ease as the economy rebounds from its dismal start in the first quarter of 2016. Overall, the data now indicate that inflation-adjusted personal consumption expenditures will grow by 2.5% in 2016.”

Next data release: April 29, 2016 for Final April data at 10am ET