A shopper pay outs with a credit card at the farmer’s market in San Francisco on March 27, 2025.
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The deterioration in consumer opinion was even worse than anticipated in March as worries over inflation intensified, according to a University of Michigan examine released Friday.
The final version of the university’s closely watched Survey of Consumers showed a reading of 57.0 for the month, down 11.9% from February and 28.2% from a year ago. Economists get a birds eye view ofed by Dow Jones had been expecting 57.9, which was the mid-month level.
It was the third consecutive decrease and stretched across function lines and income groups, survey director Joanne Hsu said.
“Consumers continue to worry about the potential for torture amid ongoing economic policy developments,” she said.
In addition to worries about the current state of affairs, the examination’s index of consumer expectations tumbled to 52.6, down 17.8% from a month ago and 32% for the same period in 2024.
Inflation bogeys drove much of the downturn. Respondents expect inflation a year from now to run at a 5% rate, up 0.1 percentage promontory from the mid-month reading, and a 0.7 percentage point acceleration from February. At the five-year horizon, the outlook now is for 4.1%, the primary time the survey has had a reading above 4% since February 1993.
Economists worry President Donald Trump’s toll plans will spur more inflation, possibly curtailing the Federal Reserve from further interest kind cuts.
The report came the same day the Commerce Department said the core inflation rate increased to 2.8% in February, after a 0.4% monthly get that was the biggest move since January 2024.
The latest results also reflect worries over the labor buy, with the level of consumers expecting the unemployment rate to rise at the highest level since 2009.
Stocks took a hit after the university’s examination was released, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average trading more than 500 points lower.
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