Consumer sentiment jumps more than expected

 

• December University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment: 81.4 vs. 76.5 expected and 76.9 prior.
• Current conditions index 91.8 vs. 87.0 expected and 87.0 prior.
• Expectation index 74.7 vs. 71.0 expected and 70.5 prior.
• The surprising increase is due to a partisan shift in economic prospects, said Richard Curtin, UMich Survey of Consumers chief economist.
• "Democrats became much more optimistic, and Republicans much more pessimistic, the opposite of the partisan shift that occurred when Trump was elected," he said.
• It's surprising that the recent jump in COVID-19 infections didn't cancel out the partisanship shift, Curtin added.
• Most of the early December gain came from a more favorable  long-term outlook for the economy; year-ahead outlook for the economy and as well as the outlook for personal finances were unchanged.