Consumer sentiment in the U.S. has unexpectedly deteriorated in the month of May, according to a report released by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan on Friday.
The report showed that the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for May came in at 81.8, down from the final April reading of 84.1.
The drop came as a surprise to economists, who had been expecting the consumer sentiment index to edge up to 84.5.
"The main concern behind the small May loss involved dispiriting trends in wages," survey director Richard Curtin said, according to Reuters.
The report showed that the barometer of current economic conditions fell to 95.1 in May from 98.7 in April, while the gauge of consumer expectations dipped to 73.2 from 74.7.
On the inflation front, one-year inflation expectations remained unchanged at 3.2 percent. The five-to-ten-year inflation outlook edged down to 2.8 percent from 2.9 percent.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.