US Inflation Expectations, Consumer Sentiment Continue to Soften
US consumer sentiment likely to weaken in August
Though consumer sentiment was going strong in the United States for some time, a University of Michigan report released Friday, August 14, indicates that it may soften this month. Consumer sentiment weakened in July as well.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) has fallen ~1.988% so far this month (as of August 14, 2015). However, it has risen by a fair 8.61% YTD (year-to-date). In contrast, the broad market–tracking SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) has risen by 1.86% this year. And XLY was up 0.07% at the close of trading on August 14.
Consumer sector companies such as Sysco (SYY), Nordstrom (JWN), and Best Buy (BBY) did well on Friday. Sysco rose 7.42%, Nordstrom rose 4.28%, and Best Buy rose 2.93%.
Consumer sentiment may lose 0.2 points in August
The consumer sentiment index is a monthly index that’s jointly released by the Institute for Social Research of the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters. Its preliminary estimate for August came out on Friday, August 14. The composite index stands at 92.9 index points in August—a 0.2 point fall from July’s 93.1 points. US consumers are seeing their personal financial projections weaken.
The current conditions component edged down to 107.1 points—a 0.1 point dip from July. The index’s expectations component recorded a 0.3 point dip to 83.8.The overall report points to weaker consumer sentiment in August 2015.
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