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U.S. consumer sentiment rises in October

Xinhua, October 31, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. consumer sentiment for October rose against September but fell below its early October level as rich families worried about financial market, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment showed Friday.

The final reading of the consumer sentiment index for October increased from 87.2 in September to 90 at present, but lower than its early October reading of 92.1, the first increase in fourth months.

"The entire October rebound from September was due to gains in confidence among lower income households, while confidence among households with incomes in the top third of the income distribution retreated a bit due to concerns about financial markets," said survey director Richard Curtin.

"Nonetheless, the overall impact from volatile stock price has been quite small. Indeed, the average level of the Sentiment Index thus far in 2015 is higher than any other year since 2004," said Curtin.

"More importantly, future financial prospects were viewed more favorably by all households in October than anytime since 2007," Curtin added.

The sub-index of current conditions, reflecting Americans' perceptions of their financial situation and whether they consider it a good time to buy big-ticket items like cars, increased to 102.3 from 101.2 last month.

The sub-index gauging consumer expectations for six months from now, which more closely projects the direction of consumer spending, rose to 82.1 from 78.2 in September. Endit