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US UoM Consumer Sentiment Index improves to 57.3 in February vs. 55 expected

  • UoM Consumer Sentiment Index came in better than expected in February's flash reading.
  • USD Index stays in negative territory below 98.00.

Consumer confidence in the US improved slightly in February, with the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index rising to 57.3 from 56.4 in January. This print came in better than the market expectation of 55.

The Consumer Expectations Index edged lower to 56.6 from 57 in this period, while the 1-year Consumer Inflation Expectation declined to 3.5% from 4%. Finally, the 5-year Consumer Inflation Expectation ticked up to 3.4% from 3.3%.

Assessing the survey's findings, "while sentiment is currently the highest since August 2025, recent monthly increases have been small—well under the margin of error—and the overall level of sentiment remains very low from a historical perspective," noted Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu, and added: "Concerns about the erosion of personal finances from high prices and elevated risk of job loss continue to be widespread."

Market reaction

The US Dollar (USD) Index remains in the lower half of its daily range after this report and was last seen losing 0.35% at 97.60.

Author

Eren Sengezer

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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