The numbers: The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index in August fell to 95.3, down from 97.9 in July, the lowest level in 11 months.
Economists polled by MarketWatch expected a reading of 98.5.
What happened: The decline was concentrated among households in the bottom third of the income distribution, the University of Michigan said. And the concern was rising prices.
Buying conditions for large household durables, which include items such as furniture, cars and appliances, sank to the lowest level in nearly four years, the University of Michigan said, and for vehicles in particular the worst in the last four years.
Home prices meanwhile were judged less favorably than anytime since 2006.
Ominous sign for housing? According to UofM, index measuring buying conditions for houses sank to 129 in August, the lowest since 2008. Note however, this index hit a peak way back in mid-2013 and since then new home sales have been rising about 7% per year. pic.twitter.com/lKRkiVoUXm
— Renaissance Macro (@RenMacLLC) August 17, 2018
