Courtesy of Doug Short
The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index final report for April came in at 69.8, little changed from the April preliminary 69.6. The Briefing.com consensus expectation had been for 69.6 and Briefing.com’s own forecast was for 70.0. The rise in gasoline prices, often a drag on sentiment, didn’t significantly impact this indicator over the past month.
See the chart below for a long-term perspective on this widely watched index. Because the sentiment index has trended upward since its inception in 1978, I’ve added a linear regression to help understand the pattern of reversion to the trend. I’ve also highlighted recessions and included real GDP to help evaluate the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index as an indicator of the broader economy.
To put today’s report into the larger historical context since its beginning in 1978, consumer sentiment is about 19% below the average reading (arithmetic mean), 18% below the geometric mean, and 20% below the regression line on the chart above. The current index level is at the 16th percentile of the 400 monthly data points in this series.
For the sake of comparison here is a chart of the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index (monthly update here). The Conference Board Index is the more volatile of the two, but the general pattern and trend are remarkably similar to the Michigan Index.
And finally, the prevailing mood of the Michigan survey is also similar to the mood of small business owners, as captured by the NFIB Business Optimism Index (monthly update here).
Consumer and small business sentiment remains at or near levels associated with other recent recessions, but the trend has been one of general improvement.
