An employee restocks the shelves in the meat section of a supermarket in Monterey Park, California, on February 12, 2025.
Frederic J. Brown | Afp | Getty Images
Consumer sentiment took another hit in March as worries intensified over inflation and a slumping stock market, according to the University of Michigan’s latest sentiment survey released Friday.
The survey posted a mid-month reading of 57.9, which represents a 10.5% decline from February and was below the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 63.2. The reading was 27.1% below a year ago.
While the current conditions index fell a less severe 3.3%, the expectations measure for the future was off 15.3% on a monthly basis and 30% from the same period in 2024.
In addition, fears grew over where inflation is headed as President Donald Trump institutes tariffs against U.S. trading partners.
The one-year outlook spiked to 4.9%, up 0.6 percentage point from February and the highest reading since November 2022. At the five-year horizon, the outlook jumped to 3.9%, up 0.4 percentage point for the highest level since February 1993.
While the survey is often prone to disparities between parties, survey officials said sentiment slumped across partisan lines along with virtually all demographics.
“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,” survey director Joanna Hsu said. “Consumers from all three political affiliations are in agreement that the outlook has weakened since February.”
This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.
