The University of Michigan’s (UoM) preliminary consumer sentiment report, published this afternoon, underlined recent talk of growing pessimism in the American economy by domestic consumers. The report, which is a survey of about 500 consumers, asks respondents to rate the level of present and future economic conditions in the US.
With expectations for a mild decline, the sudden drop of almost 3 points in the survey highlights the analysis of recent weeks. A soft start to the 2012 presidential election campaign began this week with the first major Republican debate that focused on criticism of Obama’s economic policies. The sudden focus on the economy by this gradual, but momentum-building campaign season was also fraught with the distraction of Rep. Anthony Wiener’s (D-NY) resignation Thursday.
An intense week of critical views and heightened awareness by US citizens about the state of their nation has generated a modicum of frugality and consumer pessimism, now reflected in the UoM preliminary report. With the summer expected to be sluggish, as global manufacturing plummets, this pessimism may not let up anytime soon.
