Consumer Sentiment Ticks Up in January

The ""Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index"":http://thomsonreuters.com/products_services/financial/financial_products/a-z/umichigan_surveys_of_consumers/ polls an estimated 500 households per month to calculate the consumer sentiment values, and the U.S. is rebounding off of low recordings seen as recently as August 2011, at which time consumer sentiment sat at only 55.7 on the index.

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Multiple factors are believed to have contributed to the uptick in consumer sentiment including lower levels of unemployment and dropping gas prices. While the recent statistics are

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encouraging, the creators of the index were also quick to note that the rise in consumer sentiment will likely be somewhat mitigated this year by limited wage gains and depressed home pricing.

Speaking to _Bloomberg_, Sean Incremona, senior economist for ""4Cast Inc."":www.4castweb.com/, said of the survey, ""It does look like the pace of growth is pretty steady and this helps keep that intact for now. We have seen positive numbers on the employment side and gasoline prices have reduced their squeeze on consumers.""

The news outlet went on to provide its own estimates for the future of consumer sentiment during 2012, stating that its poll of 68 economists resulted in predictions of 68.5 to 77 for the month of January.

Tallying consumer expectations for the next six months, the projections within the index extended to 68.4, which is the highest forecast on record since May 2011. Looking at current consumer conditions, the index showed that the purchase of high-value items such as vehicles is on the rise at present, ringing in at 82.6 on its scale. The current conditions evaluation is the highest rating displayed by the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index since February 2011.