According to the first estimate, University of Michigan consumer confidence improved from 55.7 to 57.8 in September, after the collapse in August. The outcome was slightly above the consensus. The details show that the improvement in sentiment was only due to a rebound in the economic conditions sub-index (74.5 from 68.7), while the economic outlook index weakened further (from 47.4 to 47.0). The further worsening in the expectations component suggests that consumers are increasingly worried about the economic outlook as fears for a double dip recession grew recently. Also inflation expectations picked up both 1- and 5-year ahead. For us the outcome is slightly disappointing as we were hoping for a bigger improvement and as consumers grew increasingly worried about the economic outlook, which might encourage them to cut spending further in the coming months.