Consumer Sentiment: FINAL Results for AUGUST 2026

The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS) - FINAL Results for August, 2026 was released today:

Predicted: 51.0

• Actual: 51.7

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• Change from Previous Month: -6.34% (-3.5 points)
  
  

• Change from 12-Months Previous: -11.17% (-6.5 points)

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• Final ICS Reading for July, 2026: 55.2
  
  
• Final ICS Reading for August, 2025: 58.2

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From Today's Report:

"...Consumer sentiment confirmed its early month reading, falling about 6% from last month and landing about 11% below a year ago amid continued worries that inflation will remain elevated for the foreseeable future. Sentiment declines in August were seen for all political groups and were particularly acute among Republicans.

Moreover, groups who are typically less-equipped to absorb increases in cost of living also exhibited stronger decreases in sentiment, including older consumers, lower- and middle-income consumers, and those with no stock holdings.

With ongoing policy uncertainty, including the Iran invasion, consumers anticipate further increases in gasoline prices both in the short and long run. In addition to the pocketbook issues that have been central to consumers’ views of the economy, they are increasingly worried that prospects elsewhere in the economy could be weakening.

Expected year-ahead business conditions fell back 10%, along with a 13% drop for the five-year horizon.

Any re-escalation of trade tensions will likely exacerbate these trends. This release covers interviews completed between July 28 and August 24.

Year-ahead inflation expectations ticked down from 4.2% in July to 4.0%. The current reading substantially exceeds the 3.4% seen in February before the Iran invasion began, along with all 2024 readings. Long-run  inflation expectations held steady at 3.3% for the third consecutive month, remaining a bit higher than its 2024 range of 2.8% to 3.2%..."

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The ICS is derived from the following five survey questions:

1. "We are interested in how people are getting along financially these days. Would you say that you (and your family living there) are better off or worse off financially than you were a year ago?"
   
   
2. "Now looking ahead, do you think that a year from now you (and your family living there) will be better off financially, or worse off, or just about the same as now?"
   
   
3. "Now turning to business conditions in the country as a whole, do you think that during the next twelve months we'll have good times financially, or bad times, or what?"
   
   
4. "Looking ahead, which would you say is more likely: that in the country as a whole we'll have continuous good times during the next five years or so, or that we will have periods of widespread unemployment or depression, or what?"
   
   
5. "About the big things people buy for their homes, such as furniture, a refrigerator, stove, television, and things like that. Generally speaking, do you think now is a good or bad time for people to buy major household items?"
   

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• Click here for more on how the ICS is calculated.

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The ICS uses a 1966 baseline, i.e. for 1966, the ICS = 100. So any number that is below the 1966 baseline of 100 means that the folks who were polled recently aren't as optimistic about the U.S. economy as those polled back in 1966.

The ICS is similar to the Consumer Confidence Index in that they both measure consumer attitudes and offer valuable insight into consumer spending.

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The "predicted" figure is what economists were expecting, while the "actual" is the true or real figure.

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• Click here to view the full University of Michigan report.

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