UM Consumer Sentiment Index Records Largest Drop Since 2012 In Spite of Falling Gasoline Prices

The Consumer Sentiment Index maintained by the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers posted its largest one-month decline, falling 8.6 points, since the federal government’s “fiscal cliff” scare of December 2012. The group’s Index of Consumer Expectations suffered an even larger drop, down 10.6 points to 79.9 from 90.5. The organization attributed the steep decline…