US: Consumer sentiment eases to 97 in final (Apr) reading - UoM

Consumer sentiment continued to travel along the high plateau established following Trump's election, with only minor deviations from its five-month average of 97.4, said Richard Curtin, Surveys of Consumers chief economist.

Key quotes:

• There was widespread agreement among consumers on their very positive assessments of the current state of the economy as well as widespread disagreement on future economic prospects
• Favorable economic developments were cited by nearly all Republicans in April, while three-quarters of Democrats reported hearing negative news about the economy
• The level of optimism among Independents, who account for 42% of all consumers, points toward continued growth in consumer spending in 2017 at about a 2.5% pace