Tariffs are on, tariffs are off, tariffs are delayed—the confusion surrounding world trade has Americans on edge. The University of Michigan’s sentiment survey for March shows a massive plunge in consumer confidence “across all groups by age, education, income, wealth, political affiliations, and geographic regions.”
Consumer sentiment dipped 11% for the month to 57,9, marking the third consecutive monthly decline and the lowest level since historically high inflation in 2022. Americans believe inflation will soon rise to 4.9%, an increase from the 4.3% predicted last month.
“Many consumers cited the high level of uncertainty around policy and other economic factors; frequent gyrations in economic policies make it very difficult for consumers to plan for the future, regardless of one’s policy preferences,” Joanne Hsu, the survey’s director, said in a…
