Consumer sentiment fell for the fifth straight month, and President Donald Tr💧ump’s decision to reverse some tariffs has not improved the public mood.

The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey declined again in May to 50.8, the second-lowest sentiment reading in the survey’s history. The report’s closely followed inflation projections showed consumers expected prices to rise by 7.3% over the next year. It’s𝓡 the highest inflation expectation since 1981.

Economists expected a slight rebound in sentiment this month amid optimism about 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:trade negotiations and the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:first agreements being reached. Consum🦄er sentiment has plunged so far this year on worries that import taxes would raise prices.

Survey Doesn’t Fully Capture U✃.S.-China Trade Deal

While the preliminary readings for May capture the period after Trump issued a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:90-day pause🐈 on many tariffs on April 9, the survey only covers two days after the White House announced a tariffs 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:agreement with China on May 12. 

“Many survey measures show✅ed some signs of improvement following the temporary reduction of China tariffs, but these initial upticks were too small to alter the overall picture—consumers continue to express somber views about the economy,” wr🍃ote Michigan Survey of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu.

Sentiment surveys have shown that consumers are 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:worrying about the direction of t𝔉he economy in the face of higher U.S. tariffs. But so far, the “澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:soft data” fears expressed by consumers haven’t shown up in the “hard data” of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:retail sales and other economic measurements.

“If you took them at face value Americans would be crashing the economy by spending next to nothing, but retail sales rose last month, though slightly,” wrote Navy Federal Credit Union Corporate Economist Robert Frick.  “What this does tell us is consumers are so on edge that a contraction in the labor market or in incomes could easily shock consumer spending and push us into recession.”