By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - US consumer sentiment jumped in January to reach its highest level since July 2021, according to the University of Michigan's consumer survey final results released Friday.
The index of consumer sentiment soared 9.3 percentage points to 79.0 in January, from 69.7 in December.
The market expectation for the index was to come in at 78.8.
"After reserving judgment last fall about whether the slowdown in inflation would persist, consumers now feel assured that inflation will continue to soften," Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said in a statement.
"Sentiment has resumed the upward trajectory from the all-time low measured in June of 2022, which had stalled in the late summer and fall of 2023," she added.
Hsu, however, noted that consumers expressed considerable disagreement about the future of the American economy.
"About 41% of consumers expect good times in the year ahead for business conditions, while 48% expect bad times. This still represents a vast improvement over the past year and a half; in June of 2022, (when) a whopping 79% of consumers expected challenging times ahead for the economy," she added.
Year-ahead inflation expectations eased to 2.9% in January, down from 3.1% in December and 4.5% in November, marking the lowest reading since December 2020.