ANN ARBOR Consumer sentiment improved in the December 2020 survey despite the ongoing surge in covid infections and deaths, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.
The improvement was due to Democrats becoming much more positive and Republicans much more negative about long-term prospects for the national economy, said U-M economist Richard Curtin, director of the surveys.
Twice as many Democrats as three months ago expected a continuous expansion over the next five years (54% up from 27%), while that same favorable expectation was nearly cut in half among Republicans (32% down from 60%). Importantly, the near-term outlook for the national economy remained unfavorable due to an expected rise in stay-at-home orders and business shutdowns due to the surging covid virus.
However, distribution efforts are likely to further overwhelm delivery systems.
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University of Michigan s Surveys of Consumers shows that consumer attitude toward December s economic condition was up 5.5% month over month but down 20.5% compared with December 2019, Coronavirus vaccine boosts consumers economic outlook. Insider Intelligence
The majority of early December gains were driven by a more positive long-term economic outlook, according to Richard Curtin, chief economist for the University of Michigan s Surveys of Consumers. Curtin attributed this rosier outlook to a skew in political views based on presidential election outcomes as well as the release of positive vaccine trial results.