Americans’ Outlook for U.S. Economy Falls to Seven-Month Low

Americans’ expectations for the economy deteriorated to a seven-month low in May, a sign that the rebound from weakness earlier this year may be limited by still-cautious consumers.

An expectations gauge that tracks where the economy is heading declined to 42.5 in May from 48 in the month prior, data from the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index showed today. The share of respondents who said the economy was getting worse climbed to the highest level this year. The weekly measure of sentiment declined to 34.1 in the period ended May 18 from 34.9, the third straight drop.