US consumer sentiment rises in August after falling 4 months

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US consumer sentiment rose in August after falling for four consecutive months, according to final results from the University of Michigan's consumer survey released Friday.

The index of consumer sentiment rose 1.5 points to 67.9 in August, from 66.4 in July.

The market expectation for the index was to come in at 67.8.

"Consumers’ short- and long-run economic outlook improved, with both figures reaching their most favorable levels since April 2024 and a particularly sizable 10% improvement for long-run expectations that was seen across age and income groups," Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said in a statement.

Hsu said Democrats exhibited a large 10% increase in sentiment, while Republicans posted an equally sized decline.

"These patterns resulted from a sea change in election expectations this month with (Kamala) Harris emerging as the Democratic candidate for president. In July, 51% of consumers expected Trump to win the election versus 37% for Biden," she said.

"In August, election expectations flipped; 36% expected Trump to win compared with 54% for Harris," she added.