U.S. consumer sentiment falls to a year low in early October

U.S. consumer sentiment slipped to a year low in early October as presidential election affect economic expectation among lower income consumers.

The preliminary reading of the consumer sentiment for October decreased to 87.9 from 91.2 in September, said the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment on Friday.

This was the lowest level since last September and the second lowest level in the past two years.

"The early October loss was concentrated among households with incomes below 75,000 U.S. dollars, whose Index fell to its lowest level since August of 2014," said survey director Richard Curtin.

"It is likely that the uncertainty surrounding the presidential election had a negative impact, especially among lower income consumers, and without that added uncertainty, the confidence measures may not have weakened," said Curtin.

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, added to 105.5 from 104.2 last month.

The sub-index gauging consumer expectations for six months from now, which more closely projects the direction of consumer spending, fell from 82.7 in September to 76.6, the lowest level in the past two years. Enditem