University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment (Prelim)
Lastly, we got February's preliminary reading to the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment at 10:00 AM ET. It came in at 100.9, exceeding predictions of 99.3 and up from January’s final reading of 99.8. The increase means more surveyed consumers felt better about their own financial and employment situations than did last month. Since this index is considered to be an indicator of future consumer spending trends, the rise is bad news for rates as it points towards stronger levels of consumer spending in the near future. Fortunately, this report is considered to be only moderately important to the markets.