Consumer confidence came in better than expected in the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers. The Index of Consumer Sentiment was 73.7 for May 2020, up 2.6% from April but down 26.3 percent from May 2019.
According to Richard Curtin, Surveys of Consumers chief economist, confidence inched upward in early May as the CARES relief checks improved consumers’ finances and widespread price discounting boosted their buying attitudes. Despite these gains, personal financial prospects for the year ahead continued to weaken, falling to the lowest level in almost six years, with declines especially sharp among upper income households.
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