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US UoM Consumer Sentiment falls to 47.6 in April, its lowest level on record

  • Consumer confidence is expected to ease in April.
  • One-year inflation expectation picked up pace to 4.8%.

American consumer confidence deflated in early April, as households grew more pessimistic about current conditions and the broader economic outlook, according to preliminary data from the University of Michigan released on Friday.

The closely watched Consumer Sentiment Index receded to 47.6 from 53.3 in the previous month, missing economists’ expectations (52) and falling to the lowest level recorded in the survey's 70-plus-year history.

Furthermore, the Current Conditions index edged lower to 50.1 from 55.8, while the Expectations gauge dropped to 46.1 from 51.7, highlighting a downbeat scenario for the months ahead.

Inflation expectations, meanwhile, are seen picking up pace: the one-year outlook rose to 4.8% from 3.8%, and the five-year forecast increased a tad to 3.4% from 3.2%.

Market reaction

The US Dollar remains well offered, navigating the area of multi-week lows and sending the US Dollar Index (DXY) back to the 98.50 zone.

US Dollar Price Today

The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Japanese Yen.

USDEURGBPJPYCADAUDNZDCHF
USD-0.28%-0.26%0.08%-0.05%-0.05%-0.03%-0.54%
EUR0.28%0.02%0.37%0.21%0.22%0.25%-0.26%
GBP0.26%-0.02%0.36%0.22%0.22%0.24%-0.28%
JPY-0.08%-0.37%-0.36%-0.15%-0.14%-0.16%-0.66%
CAD0.05%-0.21%-0.22%0.15%-0.01%0.02%-0.50%
AUD0.05%-0.22%-0.22%0.14%0.01%0.02%-0.50%
NZD0.03%-0.25%-0.24%0.16%-0.02%-0.02%-0.51%
CHF0.54%0.26%0.28%0.66%0.50%0.50%0.51%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).

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FXStreet Team

Composed of a group of economic journalists and FX experts, the FXStreet content team produces and oversees all content published on FXStreet. It provides a purely journalistic approach to the Forex market.

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