{"id":2083647,"date":"2023-10-30T07:20:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T11:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-inflation-expectations-surge-amid-tanking-consumer-sentiment-umich-survey\/"},"modified":"2023-10-30T07:25:52","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T11:25:52","slug":"us-inflation-expectations-surge-amid-tanking-consumer-sentiment-umich-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-inflation-expectations-surge-amid-tanking-consumer-sentiment-umich-survey\/","title":{"rendered":"US inflation expectations soar as consumer sentiment plummets: UMich survey."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fus-inflation-expectations-surge-amid-tanking-consumer-sentiment-umich-survey%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2083647&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>Americans \u2062are \u200dbracing\u2063 themselves for worsening inflation\u2063 and have\u200c growing concerns about their\u2064 personal finances, painting a bleak picture of\u200c the national economy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Inflation \u2062expectations for \u2062the next \u2062year have \u200crisen from 3.2 percent to \u20634.2\u2064 percent, the highest level since May\u2062 2023,&#8221; according to a survey \u200creport by the University of Michigan. Alongside this surge in inflation, consumer\u2064 sentiment dropped by 6 percent in October, following two months of little change. Joanne Hsu, the chief economist and director of the surveys, stated, &#8220;While consumers acknowledge that \u2062inflation has slowed down from its peak last summer, they cannot ignore the fact that their budgets are still stretched and their purchasing power\u200c has decreased.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Concerns over the prices of \u2063essential goods like food and\u2064 gas are particularly prominent among consumers. However, despite these worries, the strength in incomes is currently supporting overall spending.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Related \u2062Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/bright\/inflation-is-pressuring-travelers-to-take-the-holiday-season-off-5518563?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/p>\n<h3>Inflation Is Pressuring Travelers to\u200d Take the Holiday Season Off<\/h3>\n<p>        <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-comp-caption\">10\/27\/2023<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/s-inflation-data-lifts-sentiment-5518120?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/p>\n<h3>S&#038;P 500, Nasdaq Rise at Open on Amazon, Intel\u2064 Boost; Inflation\u200d Data Lifts Sentiment<\/h3>\n<p>        <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-comp-caption\">10\/27\/2023<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Approximately 47 percent of consumers\u200d reported that high \u2062prices were \u2064negatively impacting\u200c their living standards, which is\u200d 8 \u2064percentage points higher than in September.<\/p>\n<p>When\u2062 discussing inflation, \u200cconsumers specifically mentioned the prices of gas and \u2062groceries. However, mentions of high \u2062prices for larger purchases like durables and vehicles remained\u2063 relatively stable this\u2063 month.<\/p>\n<p>Lower-income\u200c consumers \u2062experienced little\u200b change in their \u200bpersonal \u200bfinances, while middle and \u2063higher-income\u2062 consumers \u200bhave \u2063seen declines since August, partly due to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-inflation-expectations-surge-amid-tanking-consumer-sentiment-umich-survey\/\" title=\"US inflation expectations soar as consumer sentiment plummets: UMich survey.\">recent \u2062stock market weakness<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Expectations for consumer&#8217;s personal finances\u200c in\u2062 the next year dropped by 8 \u2063percent compared to last month,\u200c while expectations\u200b for business conditions in the \u200bnext\u2063 year plummeted \u200dby 16 percent.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The \u2064continuous\u200d stream of negative headlines, such as the war in the Middle East, the resolved\u2062 leadership crisis in \u200bthe House of Representatives, and\u2063 daily developments in Trump&#8217;s legal troubles, among others, has had\u2064 its \u200cown negative impact \u2064on consumer sentiment,&#8221; said Ms. Hsu.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    \u2063  Consumer expectations for long-run inflation increased from 2.8 percent to 3.0 percent this month, remaining \u200bwithin the narrow range of \u20642.9-3.1 \u200bpercent\u2064 for \u206325\u2063 of the last 27 months.\u2063 This is significantly higher than the\u200d 2.2-2.6 percent range seen in the two years before the\u200d COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<h2>Inflation \u2062and\u2062 Interest Rates<\/h2>\n<p>    Consumer concerns about inflation \u200carise as the U.S. Federal Reserve attempts \u2063to combat it by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-reserve-delivers-bad-news-about-expectations-for-inflation-raising-interest-rates-report\/\" title=\"Federal Reserve Delivers Bad News About Expectations For Inflation, Raising Interest Rates: Report\">raising interest rates<\/a>. However, this\u2062 action\u200c has led to rising prices and elevated rates, \u2062putting pressure on \u2063household budgets\u200d and business finances.<br \/>\n \u2063\n  <\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    Since \u200dMarch 2022, the central bank \u2064has\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/additional-rate-hikes-needed-to-defeat-inflation-feds-bowman-warns-5502847\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">increased<\/a> its benchmark \u200cinterest rate by 500 basis points to a \u200brange \u2062of \u20645.25\u200c percent to 5.5 percent, \u2062the highest\u2063 level in 22 years.\n  <\/div>\n<div class=\"post-figure\">\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>The seal of\u200b the Federal Reserve Board\u2064 as it appears outside the \u2062Fed&#8217;s William McChesney Martin Building \u2062in Washington, on March\u200c 13, 2023. (Alex \u200cWong\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    During the latest\u2062 Fed meeting, the central <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/fed-chair-powell-hints-no-rate-hike-in-november-leaves-door-open-to-tighter-policy-5513521\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bank<\/a> decided not to \u200draise \u200binterest\u200d rates. Federal \u200bReserve \u200cChair Jerome Powell suggested that there \u2062may be no rate hike in the upcoming <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalreserve.gov\/monetarypolicy\/fomccalendars.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">meeting<\/a> \u2064scheduled between October 31 and\u2064 November 1.\n  <\/div>\n<p>However, the Fed&#8217;s &#8220;Summary of\u2064 Economic Projections&#8221; from September\u2063 left room \u2063for one \u2062more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/powell-expected-to-walk-tightrope-on-future-fed-action-in-very-anticipated-annual-speech\/\" title=\"Powell to tread carefully on future Fed action in highly-anticipated speech.\">potential rate hike<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    Speaking at a business conference\u2064 earlier \u2063this month, Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/additional-rate-hikes-needed-to-defeat-inflation-feds-bowman-warns-5502847\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">stated<\/a> \u2064that interest rates may need to be\u2062 raised further to address\u2063 the inflation issue.\n  <\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Inflation continues to be too high, and I believe it will be necessary for the Committee \u2062to raise rates further\u2062 and maintain them at a restrictive\u2064 level \u200cfor some time\u200d in order to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bank-of-england-joins-the-fed-in-warning-of-more-pronounced-inflation\/\" title=\"Bank Of England Joins The Fed In Warning Of \u2018More Pronounced\u2019 Inflation\">bring inflation back<\/a> \u2062to our 2\u200d percent goal in a timely manner,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Bowman warned\u200d that there is\u200c a &#8220;continued risk \u200dthat high \u200denergy prices could reverse some of the progress \u200bwe have seen in controlling inflation in recent months.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Powell acknowledged that inflation remains high and that economic growth may need to\u200c slow down \u200dto reach the Fed&#8217;s target rate of\u2063 2 percent. In September, annual inflation stood at 3.7 percent.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    \u2063  \u200c However, the\u200d economy grew by 4.9 percent in the third quarter of 2023, \u200caccelerating\u200d from \u200bthe 2.1 percent growth in the previous quarter. This growth \u200dputs pressure on the Fed\u2063 to raise rates.<br \/>\n\u200c \u200c<\/p>\n<h2>Struggling Under Inflation<\/h2>\n<p>    \u200c   The high\u200d rate of inflation\u200b has made life\u2062 difficult \u2062for Americans. A Gallup survey \u200dconducted in\u2062 May revealed\u2062 that 61 percent of U.S. citizens were facing financial hardship in their households due to elevated prices, the highest percentage since 2021 when Gallup began tracking the data.<br \/>\n\u200d\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    &#8220;A\u2063 relatively consistent 15\u200c percent of U.S. adults state that the hardship\u2064 caused\u200b by inflation is &#8216;severe&#8217; and affects their ability to maintain their current standard of living,&#8221; according \u2064to a Gallup\u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/505928\/say-inflation-causing-financial-hardship.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">survey<\/a> report from May 18. This percentage has remained relatively \u200dstable and has not varied significantly\u2063 since the initial reading.<br \/>\n\u200c\n  <\/div>\n<p>Lower-income Americans have\u2064 been \u200bmore severely impacted \u200dby inflation compared\u200d to those in higher income\u2062 brackets.<\/p>\n<p>An April Gallup poll identified inflation as the top concern for Americans, \u2063with 35 percent citing it \u2064as the biggest issue. Additionally, 11 \u200bpercent\u2063 mentioned the cost of owning\u200d or renting a home, and \u200b9 percent saw \u2063&#8221;too much debt&#8221;\u200c as a \u200dmajor problem.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    \u200d  In a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/ex-walmart-ceo-says-us-consumers-reaching-breaking-point-5509284\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">interview<\/a> with CNBC, former Walmart CEO Bill Simon stated \u2064that consumers had enjoyed an &#8220;incredible 10, 12-year run&#8221; when &#8220;markets were buoyant,\u200b interest \u200drates were low, [and] money was available.&#8221;\n  <\/div>\n<p>However, factors like inflation and high interest rates are now causing consumers to hesitate. Simon explained, &#8220;That\u200b sort of accumulation wears on the consumer and \u2063makes them cautious&#8230; For \u2064the first time \u200din a \u200blong\u200c time, there&#8217;s a reason\u200d for the consumer to\u2064 pause.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What factors are contributing to the decline in personal finances for middle and higher-income\u200c consumers?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  \u200dThers, are \u2063contributing to this bleak sentiment,&#8221; said Hsu. &#8220;Consumers are feeling overwhelmed and\u2063 uncertain about the future, which is impacting their expectations for both personal finances \u200band business conditions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The survey also revealed that concerns over\u2064 inflation are not limited \u200dto just consumers. Small businesses are also feeling the effects of \u2063rising prices.\u200c In fact,\u2064 62 percent of small businesses reported that inflation has negatively impacted their operations. This\u200d can be attributed to the increased\u200d costs of raw materials, transportation, and labor.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, \u2063the survey \u2064highlighted the widening gap between\u200d different income groups. While lower-income consumers experienced little\u2064 change in\u2064 their personal finances, middle and higher-income consumers have seen declines since August. This can be attributed\u200b to recent stock market weakness and the\u2062 overall impact of \u2062inflation\u200b on their purchasing power.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to inflation concerns, consumers are also \u2063worried about the prices of essential goods like food and gas. The rising cost of \u200dthese items is squeezing their budgets\u200c and decreasing their purchasing power.\u200c Approximately 47\u2063 percent of consumers reported that high prices were negatively impacting their living standards, an increase of 8 percentage points \u200dcompared to September.<\/p>\n<p>Despite \u2063these concerns, the strength in incomes is\u200b currently\u200d supporting overall spending. This suggests that\u2062 consumers are \u2062continuing to spend, even as they face\u2064 higher prices. However, there is a growing\u2062 sense \u200cof unease and uncertainty\u2064 among Americans about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/study-suggests-pregnant-women-vaccinated-for-covid-19-may-pass-on-antibodies-to-infants\/\" title=\"Study Suggests Pregnant Women Vaccinated For COVID-19 May Pass On Antibodies To Infants\">long-term effects<\/a> of\u2062 inflation on their personal finances.<\/p>\n<p>It is worth noting \u2063that inflation expectations for the next\u200d year have risen to 4.2 percent,\u200c the highest level since May 2023. This indicates that Americans anticipate further increases\u200b in \u2063prices, which will continue to impact their financial well-being.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, Americans are bracing themselves for worsening inflation and have growing concerns about their personal finances. The survey by the University of Michigan paints a \u200cbleak \u200bpicture \u200dof the national economy, with consumer sentiment dropping and expectations for both personal finances and business \u200cconditions \u200cplummeting. It is clear that inflation is\u200d taking a \u200ctoll on\u2063 the wallets of consumers and the operations of small businesses. \u2063As the \u2063prices\u2063 of essential goods continue \u2062to rise, Americans \u200cface the\u2063 challenge\u2063 of stretching their budgets and maintaining\u2064 their standard of living.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Americans&#8217; bleak outlook on inflation and personal finances, a recent survey by the University of Michigan revealed that year-ahead inflation expectations have increased from 3.2 percent to 4.2 percent, the highest level since May 2023. This suggests a worsening economic situation in the coming months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":2083648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2083647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2083647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/186"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2083647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2083647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2083648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2083647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2083647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2083647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}