Consumer Sentiment: Revised Modestly Higher

Bottom Line: Consumer sentiment was revised upward in late February but it is still slightly below January's final level of 92.0%.Sentiment had been slowly climbing for the past 5 years but has started to decline in the past 3 months. Consumer Sentiment was REVISED UP by 1.0 points in late February to 91.7%, compared with market expectations for a smaller increase to 91.0%. Sentiment has improved by only 0.4 points over the past 3 months. With this month's slight decline, compared to January's final level of 92.0%, sentiment is now 3.9% BELOW its year ago level. Sentiment had been rising until November 2015 amid substantial volatility. Current Conditions were REVISED UP by 1.0 points to 106.8%. Current conditions are still 0.1% BELOW their year ago level and had been climbing for the past 4 years. Consumer Expectations were REVISED UP by 0.9 points to 81.9%. Expectations had been climbing slowly amid substantial volatility over the past 4 years. With this month's slight decline, compared to January's final level of 82.7%, expectations are now 6.9% BELOW their year ago level.