Democrats Lead Resurgence In American Consumer Confidence, Inflation Expectations Rise

After the preliminary UMich data for July showed a small uptick in inflation expectations, the final print confirmed the bounce in short-term expectations

Source: Bloomberg

The final July reading was somewhat weaker than the one earlier in the month – back from 72.6 flash to 71.6 final (as both current and future expectations also slipped intramonth).. Since then, gas prices have risen significantly due to a combination of unexpected refinery outages and lower-than-normal stockpiles in key storage hubs, which may risk reigniting inflation.

However, they are all at around 2-year highs…

Source: Bloomberg

Democrats’ confidence soared in July (as did Independents)…

Source: Bloomberg

Americans are growing more optimistic about the economy as wage gains are finally outpacing inflation and unemployment remains low.

“This re-emerging divergence between high- and low-income consumers, if sustained, restores the typical pattern in which higher-income consumers have more favorable sentiment,” Joanne Hsu, director of the survey, said in a statement.

“The months ahead will reveal if the recovery in sentiment will be shared across the income distribution.”

The share of consumers blaming high prices for eroding their living standards fell to 36%, the lowest reading in a year and a half, according to the report. However, this measure for lower-income consumers rose in the month.