The Microsoft-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index powered by HPS (“ESI”) is a “living” index that measures U.S. adults’ expectations for the economy going forward, as well as their feelings about current conditions for major purchases. The primary goal of the Index is to accurately measure movements in overall national economic sentiment and to provide a more sophisticated alternative to existing economic sentiment indices. Unlike other prominent indices that release consumer sentiment estimates infrequently, the Microsoft-CivicScience Index is updated in real-time as responses are collected continuously every hour, every day. Large-scale cross-tabulation of survey responses and consumer attributes enable more granular analyses than are currently possible through prevailing measures.
Excerpt From the Latest Reading:
Consumer confidence continued to improve during November, according to the Microsoft News-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI), powered by Hamilton Place Strategies. The ESI improved throughout October and November, with confidence ticking up over the past two weeks, increasing by 0.3 points to 51.6. This continues to be the reading’s highest level since August this year.
Five indicators
Three of the ESI’s five indicators increased during the reading period. Confidence in the broader U.S. economy and job market experienced the largest increase, with both rising by 1.6 points. Consumer confidence in the housing market also improved by 1.0 point to 52.0. Meanwhile, confidence in making a major purchase declined by 2.0 points to 53.4, while consumer sentiment toward personal finances fell by 0.8 points, continuing its decline since the last reading period.
The slight increase comes as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled this week that interest rates would likely remain on hold, and U.S. business activity remains relatively stronger than some of the world’s other largest economies.
