The following is a report from Yahoo Finance.
Consumer sentiment tumbled further in April as the impacts of President Trump’s tariff policies were top of mind.
The latest University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey released Friday showed sentiment hit its lowest level since June 2022. The index slid to a reading of 50.8, below the 57 seen last month and the 53.8 expected by economists.
Pessimism over the inflation outlook soared again, as one-year inflation expectations jumped to 6.7% — the highest since 1981 — from 4.9% the month prior. Just three months ago, consumers had expected inflation of 3.3% over the next year.
Long-run inflation expectations, which track expectations over the next five to 10 years, climbed, too, hitting 4.4% in April, up from 4.1% in March. Also in the release, the expected change in unemployment hit its lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
“Sentiment has now lost more than 30% since December 2024 amid growing worries about trade war developments that have oscillated over the course of the year,” University of Michigan Survey of Consumers director Joanne Hsu said in the release.
She added: “Consumers report multiple warning signs that raise the risk of recession: expectations for business conditions, personal finances, incomes, inflation, and labor markets all continued to deteriorate this month.”
The survey was conducted between March 25 and April 8, meaning some responses were gathered after Trump’s April 2 “reciprocal” tariff announcements. Notably, the survey doesn’t reflect any reaction to Trump’s 90-day pause on many of those levies and the escalation of China tariffs from Wednesday.
Click here to read the full report by Josh Schafer at Yahoo Finance.
