Overview
- The University of Michigan index fell to a preliminary 48.2, the lowest reading since records began in 1952.
- Consumers most often pointed to gasoline prices and tariffs as the reason their views have darkened, the survey’s director said.
- Gasoline has held above $4 a gallon for weeks because the Strait of Hormuz closure during the Iran war has lifted global energy costs.
- Buying conditions for big purchases worsened, a shift showing up in Whirlpool’s report of recession-level appliance demand.
- The labor market stayed firm in April with 4.3% unemployment and 115,000 new jobs, which has so far helped prevent a broad pullback in spending.