University of Michigan consumer sentiment index rises to 51.0 in preliminary November reading

The University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment rose to 51.0 in preliminary November results, up from 48.0 in October, the university’s Surveys of Consumers reported Friday, Nov. 6. That is an increase of 6.3% from the prior month. The index was the same as in November 2025, when it also stood at 51.0, according to the release.¹

CollisionWeek reported that the reading was the highest since August.²

The components

• Index of Consumer Sentiment: 51.0 in November, from 48.0 in October and 51.0 in November 2025. Up 6.3% from October; 0.0% change from a year earlier.
• Current Economic Conditions: 51.0, from 46.7 in October and 51.1 a year earlier. Up 9.2% from October; down 0.2% from a year earlier.
• Index of Consumer Expectations: 50.9, from 48.8 in October and 51.0 a year earlier. Up 4.3% from October; down 0.2% from a year earlier.¹

Inflation expectations

Consumers’ expectations for inflation over the next year fell to 4.3% from 4.7% in October, the survey said. The release described the November figure as the lowest since August and noted that it remains above the 3.4% recorded in February and above all 2024 readings.¹

Long-run inflation expectations edged down to 3.4% from 3.5% in October. The release compared that with a range of 2.8% to 3.2% during 2024.¹

What the survey director said

Joanne Hsu, director of the Surveys of Consumers, said in the release that “consumer sentiment ticked up about 6% in the preliminary read.” She said modest gains in several measures, including expected personal finances and business conditions, came mostly from independents.¹

Hsu said sentiment rose among consumers with lower and middle levels of wealth but fell 5% among those with the largest stock holdings, which she placed “in the wake of a relatively turbulent period in stock markets.” She said respondents’ comments showed growing worry about a possible AI bubble, but that cost-of-living concerns remained larger across the population.¹

According to the release, about 57% of respondents raised, without being prompted, that high prices had eroded their living standards. Hsu said that was the highest share since May and up from 46% in February, which she described as “just prior to the Iran conflict.” She said that despite the November gain, sentiment is down 10% from February.¹

Interview dates and the election

Interviews for the preliminary release were conducted from Oct. 20 to Nov. 2, the release said. Hsu said that in the two months leading into the election, more than two-thirds of consumers expected Democrats to win the House and more than half expected the same for the Senate. The release pointed readers to an Oct. 30 special report on election expectations.¹

The Surveys of Consumers said final November results are scheduled for 10 a.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 20.¹

What the records do not show

• The release is preliminary; the final November figures may differ.¹
• The release gives the index values and percentage changes but not the number of people interviewed or the margin of error.
• The release reports what consumers expected and said; it does not measure actual inflation or establish why sentiment changed.
• SignalData did not find an economists’ forecast for the reading in the sources it opened and does not report one.