Survey Shows Consumer Confidence At 45-Year Low

CNN reports:

Americans are rarely this pessimistic about the economy. Consumer sentiment plunged 11% this month to a preliminary reading of 50.8, the University of Michigan said in its latest survey released Friday. April’s reading was lower than anything seen during the Great Recession.

President Donald Trump’s volatile trade war, which threatens higher inflation, has significantly weighed on Americans’ moods these past few months. That malaise worsened leading up to Trump’s announcement last week of sweeping tariffs, according to the survey.

“This decline was, like the last month’s, pervasive and unanimous across age, income, education, geographic region and political affiliation,” Joanne Hsu, the survey’s director, said in a release.

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New consumer sentiment data just out for April:

Americans’ expectations for how the economy will fare over the next year are now at their worst in 45 years.

Consumer confidence is down 40% since Trump’s inauguration, including a 20% drop among Republicans. pic.twitter.com/dyGoQDh9tp

— John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) April 11, 2025