Overview
- UK GfK consumer confidence rose two points to -17 in December, with all components higher and the major-purchase index improving to -11, yet spending remains subdued.
- The University of Michigan’s final December sentiment edged up to 52.9, still nearly 30% below a year earlier, indicating only modest improvement in overall views.
- UMich’s current conditions gauge slipped to 50.4, a new series low, and buying conditions for big-ticket goods deteriorated to the weakest on record.
- U.S. one-year inflation expectations fell for a fourth straight month to 4.2%, the lowest in 11 months, even as assessments of present conditions worsened.
- Germany’s GfK/NIM index is projected to drop to -26.9 in January, with saving propensity at its highest since June 2008 amid inflation worries and pension-policy uncertainty.