U.S. Consumer Sentiment Slumps Slightly More Than Initially Estimated In June

(RTTNews) - Consumer sentiment in the U.S. tumbled by slightly more than initially estimated in the month of June, revised data from the University of Michigan revealed on Friday.

The report showed the consumer sentiment index for June was downwardly revised to 50.0 from the preliminary reading of 50.2.

The consumer sentiment index is down sharply from the final May reading of 58.4, plunging to its lowest level on record.

The steep drop by the headline index came as the current economic conditions index plunged to 53.8 in June from 53.3 in May, while the index of consumer expectations tumbled to 47.5 from 55.2.

"Consumers across income, age, education, geographic region, political affiliation, stockholding and homeownership status all posted large declines," said Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu. "About 79% of consumers expected bad times in the year ahead for business conditions, the highest since 2009."

She added, "Inflation continued to be of paramount concern to consumers; 47% of consumers blamed inflation for eroding their living standards, just one point shy of the all-time high last reached during the Great Recession."

The report showed one-year inflation expectations were unchanged at 5.3 percent, while five-year inflation expectations inched up to 3.1 percent in June from 3.0 percent in May.