US consumer sentiment fell for a fourth straight month in April, reaching lower levels than during the Great Recession in 2008, as inflation expectations surged to four-decade highs.
The preliminary consumer sentiment gauge fell to 50.8 in April, below the 55.3 end-of-month level it reached in November 2008 during the start of the Great Recession, according to the University of Michigan's preliminary reading for April. The only lower reading in records going back to 1952 was in mid-2022 during Covid-19.
Year-ahead inflation expectations surged to 6.7pc this month, the highest reading since 1981, from 5pc last month.
Sentiment fell by 10.9pc from 57 in March and has lost more than 30pc since December 2024 "... amid growing worries about trade war developments that have oscillated over the course of the year."
"Consumers report multiple warning signs that raise the risk of recession: expectations for business conditions, personal finances, incomes, inflation, and labor markets all continued to deteriorate," the survey said.
The index of current economic conditions fell to 56.5 in April from 63.8 the prior month.
The index of consumer expectations fell to 47.2 this month from 52.6 in March.
The proportion of consumers who expect unemployment to rise in the year ahead rose for a fifth month and is more than double the November 2024 result.
Interviews for the report were done between 25 March and 8 April, ending prior to the 9 April partial reversal of US tariffs.
By Bob Willis
