Record gap in sentiment vs reality: Americans feel poor but spend like millionaires, retail sales are up 4.8%

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The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index has moved down to 55, a reading below 99% of historical data points going back to 1952.

But at the same time, US Retail Sales grew 4.8% over the last year, outpacing inflation by 1.8%.

We’ve never seen a disconnect this wide between what the US consumer is saying and what they are doing.