U.S. Consumer Sentiment Weakens In August

By Agence France-Presse Sentiment among American consumers weakened a little in August amid news of unexpectedly weak jobs growth, a survey by the University of Michigan showed Aug. 27. A consumer sentiment index, based on survey results, eased to 95.9 points late August from 96.7 late July. It was up, however, from an early August reading of 94.0. The sentiment reading was better than the 94 points being forecast by many economists. The government announced Aug. 6 that the economy generated just 32,000 extra jobs in July, shattering market expectations for a gain of at least 240,000 jobs after a sluggish June. Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2004