U.S. consumer sentiment remained weak in August amid ongoing concerns over inflation and the coronavirus pandemic. The University of Michigan’s final sentiment index fell to a near-decade low of 70.3 during the month from 81.2 in July, data released Friday showed. The figure was in line with the preliminary reading and just below the median estimate of 70.8 in a Bloomberg survey of economists. “Consumers’ extreme reactions were due to the surging Delta variant, higher inflation, slower wage growth, and smaller declines in unemployment,” Richard Curtin, director of the survey, said in a statement. “The extraordinary falloff in sentiment also reflects an emotional response, from dashed hopes that the pandemic would soon end and lives could return to normal without the re-imposition of strict COVID regulations,” he said. If the slide in confidence translates to a pullback in spending, economic growth may decelerate further in the coming months. Respondents said they expect inflation to rise 2.9 percent over the next five to 10 years, a three-month high. They expect prices to advance 4.6 percent over the next year — just shy of the 4.7 percent seen in the July survey, which was the highest in more than a decade. Severe supply chain disruptions and a broader reopening of the economy have fueled swift price gains for a variety of goods and services. Soaring rents and home prices are further burdening Americans’ finances. Meanwhile, the United States probably added 750,000 jobs in August, a slowdown from June and July but well above the pace seen earlier this year, according to economists’ forecasts. While job growth has been improving, labor-force participation — the share of Americans either working or looking for work — has been stuck near the lowest level since the 1970s for nearly a year.(SD-Agencies) | 