Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Data Disappoints, DXY Largely Unchanged

University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Narrowly Misses Expectations

The preliminary consumer sentiment data for October came in slightly lower than expected. The university explains that consumer sentiment has remained for the past three months at the lows first recorded in response to last year's shutdown of the economy, referencing the Delta variant, supply chain shortages and reduced labor force participation rates which may weigh heavy on consumer spending.

Data for the period of March through July ranged from low to high eighties, however, the August and September figures dropped to the low seventies with 70.3 and 71 respectively, indicating a less optimistic outlook from an individual and local economic perspective.

The consumer sentiment print comes shortly after US retail sales data for September outperformed expectations of a 0.2% drop by rising by 0.7% when compared to August’s figure.

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The larger consumer survey conducted by the University of Michigan focuses on three areas:how consumers view prospects for their own financial situation, how they view prospects for the general economy over the near term, and their view of prospects for the economy over the long term. All of the three above mentioned figures dropped from last month.

Immediate Dollar Response

The US dollar, by way of the US dollar index, understandably showed no significant reaction to the news and continued to trade at.

US Dollar Index (5 min chart)

Chart prepared by Richard Snow, IG

--- Written by Richard Snow for DailyFX.com

Contact and follow Richard on Twitter: @RichardSnowFX