Rate expectations remain elevated among consumers – Wells Fargo

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The University of Michigan’s Consumer Confidence data for August offered little change. Analysts at Wells Fargo point out that consumers anticipate prices to decline overall, despite their expectations of rising interest rates.

Key quotes: 

“Consumers are becoming more convinced that inflation is cooling. Whether or not they fully understand the Federal Reserve’s role in that is not completely clear, but they are yet to be convinced that we have seen the last of rising interest rates.”

“A majority of consumer still expects interest rates to rise over the next year. In fact, the index value for this measure, or the share of consumers expecting interest rates to go up less the share expecting them to come down in the next year, sits at 50. Though this is a slight decline from 52 in July, it is still above any other point since February 2021.”