Early Sept consumer sentiment steady: U.Michigan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer sentiment was steady in early September from August as shifts in outlooks among different income and age groups and regions offset each other, a survey showed on Friday.

The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said its preliminary September figure on consumer sentiment was 83.8, slightly above a median forecast of 83.4 which matched August's final reading.

The cross-currents that held sentiment steady could be the prelude to additional declines or renewed gains, "although additional declines may be more likely," it said, but added that the data indicated that "only the extent and duration of the weakness in consumer spending are still at issue."

Consumer sentiment has been seen as a proxy for future consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the U.S. economy. This deterioration in consumer mood seemed to be reflected in recent weekly retail sales data.

The survey's gauge of current consumer conditions was 98.3 in early September, slightly below August's final 98.4.

The figure on consumer expectations for early September was 74.4, slightly above the final August reading of 73.7.

The economic factor that changed the most in the survey was interest-rate expectations, which recorded its largest improvement since December 2000, the month prior to the start of 13 Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. The first five cuts in the first five months of 2001 were each a half percentage point. A recession lasted from March to November 2001.

The number of households reporting declines in the value of their homes rose to 25 percent in early September 2007, five times the level recorded in September 2002, and just above the all-time peak of 24 percent in November 1992, the survey said.

One of five homeowners expected their home's value to fall in the year ahead, the largest proportion so far this year.

Consumers' view of current personal finances rose to 105 from 103 in August. The index of their expectations for personal finances slipped to 118 from 120.

The survey's one-year inflation index slipped to 3.1 percent in early September, its lowest since March, from 3.2 percent in August. The five-to-10-year inflation index, however, rose to 3.0 from 2.9.