Utah’s consumer sentiment index took a significant drop from January to February, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute’s Survey of Utah Consumer Sentiment. After a sizable increase from December to January, the index fell from 75.6 to 70.4 in February.
A similar nationwide survey conducted by the University of Michigan found the sentiment index rose from 64.9 in January to 67.0 in February.
“Utahns continue to express uncertainty about the economy,” said Gardner Institute chief economist Phil Dean. “The long-standing trend of higher Utah sentiment compared to U.S. sentiment remains consistent with the Utah economy outperforming the U.S. economy coming out of the pandemic. But the relatively low index level, including a one-month decline, suggests consumer uncertainty remains even after several months of increases.”
The full results of the survey are available online at the Gardner Institute website, https://gardner.utah.edu.