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US consumer sentiment rises for the first time in three months
Consumer sentiment may finally be recovering after falling to historic lows due to wartime price spikes. The University of Michigan’s latest survey of Americans, released Friday, showed that sentiment rose 9% to a preliminary reading of 48.9 early this month, the first increase since February, before the United States and Israel’s destabilizing war with Iran sent global energy prices surging. Gas prices, which heavily influence people’s perception of the economy, climbed in the several weeks after the war began, pushing sentiment down to a record low — twice. Gas prices have declined in recent weeks, which ... (full story)