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Chart of the daySaturday 12 September

US consumer sentiment fell to 47.8 in September, the second-lowest since 1952. Only May was lower

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The story behind it

American diesel went past US$6 a gallon and households have stopped pretending it's fine From Rally First, Hike Later · Saturday 12 September Read the edition →

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Chart: US consumer sentiment fell to 47.8 in September, the second-lowest since 1952. Only May was lower. University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment, monthly, from the start of 2019. September is the preliminary reading. The survey began in 1952.
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The story behind it

American diesel went past US$6 a gallon and households have stopped pretending it's fine From Rally First, Hike Later · Saturday 12 September Read the edition →

On the calendar

The US releases that move markets, in New Zealand and Australian time. Economic calendar →

What the chart shows

Nobody needed a survey to tell them, but the survey says it anyway. The University of Michigan's preliminary index of consumer sentiment for September fell to 47.8, against expectations of 51.0 and August's 51.7. In a series that stretches back to 1952, only May this year, at 44.8, has come in lower.

Today's chart runs the index over the past seven and a half years. It read 101.0 just before the pandemic, sat at 50.0 at its low point in the years before this one, and has now fallen through that mark twice this year.

The reason is at the pump. Diesel has set a record and petrol rose again in the week, and a fuel shock reaches the supermarket shelf well before it reaches an official inflation print. The Fed meets on Wednesday with a rate rise widely expected, and higher rates work on fuel prices only by slowing demand.

The numbers

University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment, monthly, from the start of 2019. September is the preliminary reading. The survey began in 1952.

University of Michigan consumer sentiment index
Jan 201991.2
Feb 201993.8
Mar 201998.4
Apr 201997.2
May 2019100.0
Jun 201998.2
Jul 201998.4
Aug 201989.8
Sep 201993.2
Oct 201995.5
Nov 201996.8
Dec 201999.3
Jan 202099.8
Feb 2020101.0
Mar 202089.1
Apr 202071.8
May 202072.3
Jun 202078.1
Jul 202072.5
Aug 202074.1
Sep 202080.4
Oct 202081.8
Nov 202076.9
Dec 202080.7
Jan 202179.0
Feb 202176.8
Mar 202184.9
Apr 202188.3
May 202182.9
Jun 202185.5
Jul 202181.2
Aug 202170.3
Sep 202172.8
Oct 202171.7
Nov 202167.4
Dec 202170.6
Jan 202267.2
Feb 202262.8
Mar 202259.4
Apr 202265.2
May 202258.4
Jun 202250.0
Jul 202251.5
Aug 202258.2
Sep 202258.6
Oct 202259.9
Nov 202256.7
Dec 202259.8
Jan 202364.9
Feb 202366.9
Mar 202362.0
Apr 202363.7
May 202359.0
Jun 202364.2
Jul 202371.5
Aug 202369.4
Sep 202367.8
Oct 202363.8
Nov 202361.3
Dec 202369.7
Jan 202479.0
Feb 202476.9
Mar 202479.4
Apr 202477.2
May 202469.1
Jun 202468.2
Jul 202466.4
Aug 202467.9
Sep 202470.1
Oct 202470.5
Nov 202471.8
Dec 202474.0
Jan 202571.7
Feb 202564.7
Mar 202557.0
Apr 202552.2
May 202552.2
Jun 202560.7
Jul 202561.7
Aug 202558.2
Sep 202555.1
Oct 202553.6
Nov 202551.0
Dec 202552.9
Jan 202656.4
Feb 202656.6
Mar 202653.3
Apr 202649.8
May 202644.8
Jun 202649.5
Jul 202655.2
Aug 202651.7
Sep 202647.8

93 rows: scroll the table for the rest.

How we make these charts: one chart a day from a story in the edition, drawn from the figures the story names and checked against the sources named on the chart before it is published. General information only, not financial advice.

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