“U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly surged to a 13-year high as Americans’ perceptions of the economy and their own finances rebounded following several major hurricanes, a University of Michigan survey showed Friday,” Agnel Philip reports for Bloomberg. “The jump in sentiment, which was greater than any analyst had projected, may reflect several trends: falling gasoline prices following a hurricane-related spike; repeated record highs for the stock market; a 16-year low in unemployment; and post-storm recovery efforts driving a rebound in economic growth.”
“The advance in the main gauge spanned age and income subgroups as well as partisan views, according to the report,” Philip reports. “Almost six out of every 10 consumers thought the economy had recently improved in early October, the university said.”
While the early October surge indicates greater optimism about the future course of the economy, it also reflects an unmistakable sense among consumers that economic prospects are now about as good as could be expected. Indeed, nothing in the latest survey indicates that consumers anticipate an economic downturn anytime soon — which contrarians may consider a clear warning sign of trouble ahead. — Richard Curtin, director of the University of Michigan consumer survey
MacDailyNews Take: This obviously bodes very well for discretionary-spending-dependent Apple and the slew of new iPhones, Macs, iPads, and entirely new consumer products (HomePod) the company has recently debuted or is about to begin shipping!
