Consumer Sentiment Falls Off A Cliff With Trump's Tariffs Talk
The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index has been around since 1952. The current index is at its lowest point since 1981. Respondents' expectation for inflation a year from now is a staggering 6.7%, or about what occurred after the COVID crisis. So if voters didn't like the high inflation of the Biden economy when supply chains were broken causing those massive price spikes, they're probably going to dislike the Trump economy even less, as the economic pain is entirely self-inflicted this time.
Source: CNBC
Consumer sentiment grew even worse than expected in April as the expected inflation level hit its highest since 1981, a closely watched University of Michigan survey showed Friday.
The survey’s mid-month reading on consumer sentiment fell to 50.8, down from 57.0 in March and below the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 54.6. The move represented a 10.9% monthly change and was 34.2% lower than a year ago. It was lowest reading since June 2022 and the second lowest in the survey’s history going back to 1952.
As sentiment moved lower, inflation worries surged.