US consumer sentiment rises in August

U.S. consumer sentiment rose in August as an index of current economic conditions reached a seven- year high, a survey showed Friday.
The final reading of the consumer sentiment index in August increased to 82.5 from 81.8 in July, better than the market expectation of 80.1, according to the monthly Thomson Reuters/ University of Michigan survey of consumers.
The sub-index of the current economic conditions, which reflects Americans' perceptions of their financial situation and whether they consider it a good time to buy big-ticket items like houses or cars, increased from 97.4 in July to 99.8 this month, the highest level since July 2007.
"Consumers judged their current financial situation more favorably than any time since the start of the Great Recession," said the survey.
Consumers' expectations for the future, however, were less optimistic. The sub-index gauging consumer expectations for six months from now, which more closely projects the direction of consumer spending, fell for a fourth straight month to 71.3 in August from 71.8 last month.