us consumer sentiment increased slightly in early september reaching its highest level in five months as the continued decline in gasoline prices offset concerns over inflation and an economic slowdown the preliminary estimate of the consumer sentiment index published friday by the university of michigan stood at 595 in september up from 582 in august the highest reading since april the reading broadly matches the 600 consensus forecast from economists polled by the wall street journal despite the slight improvement in sentiment consumers showed signs of uncertainty over the trajectory of the economy said joanne hsu the surveys director the oneyear economic outlook continued lifting from the extremely low readings earlier in the summer but these gains were largely offset by modest declines in the long run outlook she said americans inflation expectations fell in september for third consecutive month according to the surveys data consumers see prices increasing 46 in the next year down from the 48 rise expected in august inflation expectations for the next five years a closely watched indicator for federal reserves officials fell to 28 from 29 the prior month reaching its lowest level since july 2021 it is unclear if these improvements will persist as consumers continued to exhibit substantial uncertainty over the future trajectory of prices ms hsu said the index measuring americans assessment of the current economic conditions increased marginally to 589 from 586 while the measure gauging shortterm expectations rose to 599 from 580 the prior month personal finance components of the index as well as buying conditions for durables remained at similar relatively low levels from last month ms hsu said the surveys final reading for the month will be published on sept 30