Consumer sentiment drops from January high

After hitting an 11-year high in January, consumer sentiment was down slightly in February, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of Consumers.

The 95.4 mark was lower than January’s 98.1, but higher than the preliminary February number of 93.6 released earlier this month. Consumer sentiment is still higher than it has been since before the recession.

“It is hard not to attribute the small February decline to the temporary impact of the harsh weather, as declines that occurred in the Northeast and Midwest were triple the average loss, while Southern residents grew more optimistic,” said chief economist Richard Curtin in the report.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, released earlier this week, was also down from January, but remains at a post-recession high.