Nobody Cares About the Michigan Consumer Sentiment

The

on Thursday saw confidence among U.S. consumers rising above the forecast in December, as the holiday spending was coming to an end. If you would like to be alerted to consumer sentiment updates as they come out in real-time, signup for a

of Benzinga Pro's premium news service. According to

, “The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment climbed to 69.9 from 64.1 at the end of November. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey called for 68 after a preliminary reading of 67.7. The gauge averaged 89 in the five years leading up to the recession that began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009.” Analysts believe that the

and lower gas prices are boosting confidence. “Income growth and a reviving job market are helping restore confidence,” Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said on Bloomberg. “Recent decline in jobless claims and gasoline prices are a positive.” Data shows that the labor market is showing signs of improvement. “The Conference Board's gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months rose 0.5 percent after a 0.9 percent October increase, the New York-based research group said today. The median forecast of 54 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected the gauge would advance 0.3 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index held earlier gains after the reports, rising 0.5 percent to 1,249.49 at 10:09 a.m. in New York.” The question remains though, what value does the Michigan Consumer Sentiment have right now? No explosive revelations came out of the study. People are happier when gas prices are lower. Consumer spending goes up before the holidays and then drops during the holidays. To be honest, I could have told you that without the research.