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Consumer sentiment is very high, but Democrats and Republicans have starkly different views on the economy.

A measure of how optimistic Americans are about the economy, known as consumer sentiment, fell in February just a month after hitting the highest level since 2004. But Democrats and Republicans see the economy in starkly different terms.

The consumer sentiment survey dropped to 95.7 this month from 98.5 in January, based on a preliminary reading by the University Michigan. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a reading of 98.

Americans were just as optimistic about current economic conditions in February as they were in January, but they set their sights a bit lower for the next six months. A gauge that measures expectations slipped to 85.7 from 90.3.

In February, roughly six in 10 consumers polled made either positive or negative references to some government action by the new Trump administration, an unusually high level. About the half the responses were favorable and half were unfavorable.

Expectations for the next six months among Democrats were near a historic low while expectations among Republicans was near a record high.

These differences are troublesome, said Richard Curtin, chief economist of the Michigan survey.

He said consumer spending is more influenced over time by negative instead of positive expectations, perhaps a sign that it could eventually weigh on the economy.

A similar survey of consumers by the New York Federal Reserve suggests that recent highs in consumer confidence are exaggerated by partisanship. After factoring out how liberals and conservatives view the economy, the New York Fed concluded that overall consumer confidence is probably little changed compared to pre-election levels.

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Democrat, Republican consumers have starkly different views of US economy - MarketWatch