Washington - Saba:
The University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index released on Friday revealed that consumer confidence in the United States fell sharply this month.
The confidence index fell 6.2 points from last month to 50.8.
In this regard, consumers indicated that the tariff policy of President Donald Trump's administration and the growing fears of high unemployment are negatively affecting their confidence, as the decline in consumer expectations during the current month was evident.
Joanna Hsu, director of consumer surveys at the university, notes that "the consumer confidence index has declined by more than 30% since December 2024 amid growing concerns about trade war developments throughout the year," noting that the percentage of consumers who believe that unemployment will increase this year is now more than double, continuing to rise for the fifth consecutive month.
Analysts expect inflation to rise within a year to 6.7%, up from 5% in last month's survey.
Hsu explained that inflation expectations are at their highest level since 1981, and represent a steady increase over four months with a significant rise of 0.5 percentage points or more.
The University of Michigan's Consumer Confidence Index measures the buying behavior of American consumers. It is based on a telephone survey of about 500 consumers.
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