U.S. consumer sentiment declines in November - Univ. of Michigan survey

By Scott Kanowsky 

Investing.com -- U.S. consumer confidence dropped in November by more than anticipated, according to a closely-watched monthly survey published on Friday.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell to a preliminary reading of 54.7, down from 59.9 in October. Economists' forecasts had called for a slight decrease to 59.5.

"Overall, declines in sentiment were observed across the distribution of age, education, income, geography, and political affiliation, showing that the recent improvements in sentiment were tentative," said Joanne Hsu, director of the surveys of consumers at the University of Michigan. "Instability in sentiment is likely to continue, a reflection of uncertainty over both global factors and the eventual outcomes of the election."

Meanwhile, a gauge of consumer expectations for inflation over the next 12 months was little changed, edging up only slightly to 5.1% from 5.0%.

This comes after new data released on Thursday showed annual inflation in the world's largest economy fell by more than expected in October to 7.7%.