Republican households are much more optimistic about the U.S. economy following the election of Donald Trump as president, data from the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey showed on Friday.
The index of consumer sentiment inched up 1.3 points in November, the fourth straight month of incremental increases, to 71.8. This was below expectations and lower than the mid-month, preliminary reading. The expectations gauge rose by a solid 2.8 points while the current conditions metric fell by one point.
But among Republicans, the expectations component soared. The index for expectations among Republicans jumped from 61.4 in October to 89.2. That puts GOP expectations at the best level since October of 2020, prior to Joe Biden’s election.
Expectations dipped slightly among independents and fell sharply among Democrats, partially offsetting the new optimism of Republicans. Both independents and Republicans felt worse about current conditions, while Democrats felt slightly better.
“In a mirror image of November 2020, the expectations index surged for Republicans and fell for Democrats this month, a reflection of the two groups’ incongruous views of how Trump’s policies will influence the economy,” said Joanne Hsu, the director of the survey.