US Consumer Sentiment Rises Ahead of Election

U.S. consumer sentiment hit a six-month high today, analysts say, that was partly fueled by modest improvements in buying conditions for durable goods as well as an easing in interest rates. But they also said that the election loomed large in this month's reading. For a sense of that, I want you to take a listen here to the head of the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Survey, Joanne Hsu, who joined Bloomberg earlier today. Consumers overall are feeling much better about the economy than they were two years ago. At the same time, they continue to tell us how much high prices are weighing on their personal finances. So people don't necessarily feel like they're thriving now, but they really have seen quite a bit of improvement since the peak of inflation a couple years ago. Consumer confidence is up more than 40 percent from a June 2022 low, but still beneath pre-pandemic levels. Hsu says today's numbers were partly fueled by the sentiment of Republicans, which rose eight percent from last month on what University of Michigan says indicates growing confidence by those in the GOP that Trump could win. Meanwhile, Democrats' consumer sentiment declined by one percent, and independents gained four percent in this reading. The economy has consistently clocked in as a top priority this election. The latest Bloomberg News morning console poll out this week shows 36 percent of likely voters in the seven key battleground states that we're watching ranked it as their single most important issue. About two-thirds of battleground voters say the economy is on the wrong track. That number, though, has improved since this time last year. Now, our polling consistently has found that former President Donald Trump has led on this issue when it comes to voters' confidence in handling the economy. But, Kayleigh, today's consumer sentiment is the highest in six months. If we go back since six months, that's when President Biden was at the top of the Democratic ticket. Now, former President Trump is leading Vice President Kamala Harris on the issue by about five percentage points, but six months ago in April, he was leading President Biden by 15 percentage points, so she's certainly made inroads for Democrats. Tyler, we just have a minute left here, but what's with the disconnect between voters thinking the economy is on the right track and the data, or the wrong track, rather, but the data signaling otherwise? Right, well, prices have definitely eased in the last two years, but a recent Bloomberg analysis looked at this exact question. They're saying that many voters feel that while prices have eased, prices are still higher than they were before the pandemic, and also some of the gauges that we use, like the consumer price index, don't take into account everyday prices hitting Americans, like property taxes or mortgage payments, and that could be also adding to what Americans are feeling.