US consumer confidence hits lowest level since onset of Covid-19 pandemic

WASHINGTON – US consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to survey data published on April 29, reflecting concerns about President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.

The Conference Board’s US consumer confidence index fell 7.9 points to 86 in April, the research organisation announced, noting that mentions of tariffs in write-in responses reached an “all-time high”.

This was the lowest level since May 2020, a spokesman said.

“Consumer confidence declined for a fifth consecutive month in April,” Conference Board senior economist Stephanie Guichard said.

“The three expectation components – business conditions, employment prospects and future income – all deteriorated sharply, reflecting pervasive pessimism about the future,” she added.

Mr Trump’s tariff plans have unnerved investors, sending market volatility soaring and consumer confidence plunging.

Confidence in the financial markets has also tanked,

according to Ms Guichard, with 48.5 per cent of consumers expecting stock prices to fall over the next 12 months, the highest share since October 2011.

In another worrying sign, average 12-month inflation expectations reached 7 per cent in April that, Ms Guichard noted, was the “highest since November 2022, when the US was experiencing extremely high inflation”.

If sustained, higher inflation expectations can cause a vicious cycle of price hikes, as businesses pre-emptively raise prices in anticipation that their costs will rise further in the future. AFP