Washington, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 26th Feb, 2025) US consumer confidence in February saw its largest monthly decline since August 2021, deepening a recent slump in optimism in President Donald Trump’s second month back in office.
American buyers also sharply increased their expectations that inflation would reignite, citing concerns about the impact of Trump’s trade and immigration policy proposals on prices.
The US consumer confidence index fell 7.0 points to 98.3 in February from a revised 105.3 in January, the Conference board announced in a statement.
“Consumers’ confidence has deteriorated sharply in the face of threats to impose large tariffs and to slash Federal spending and employment,” Pantheon Macroeconomics chief US economist Samuel Tombs wrote in a note to clients.
February’s figures marked the largest monthly decline since August 2021, according to the Conference Board, and returned consumer confidence to its lowest level since June 2024.
The February data was sharply below market expectations of 103.1, according to Briefing.com.
“This is the third consecutive month on month decline, bringing the Index to the bottom of the range that has prevailed since 2022,” Conference Board senior economist Stephanie Guichard said in a statement.
Guichard noted that average 12-month inflation expectations “surged” to 6.0 percent in February from 5.2 percent a month earlier.
“This increase likely reflected a mix of factors, including sticky inflation but also the recent jump in prices of key household staples like eggs and the expected impact of tariffs,” she said.
Guichard added that there was a “sharp increase” in the mention of tariffs and trade in the section of the survey for write-in responses.
“Most notably, comments on the current Administration and its policies dominated the responses,” she said.
