U.S. consumer confidence plummets to COVID-era level, amid the trade war

Americans’ confidence in the economy has been plummeting for the past five months, reaching its lowest level since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many people reportedly being anxious about the impact of tariffs on their lives.

On Tuesday, the Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index declined 7.9 points in April, to 86, its lowest reading since May 2020, according to the Associated Press. 

The figures are supported by the AP-NORC Center survey, which indicates that Americans are not very happy about the state of the economy, allegedly expecting prices to rise due to the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump and worrying about the potential for a recession.

"Rattled consumers spend less than confident consumers," Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, told the wire service. "If confidence sags and consumers retrench, growth will go down."

According to the Apr. 15 poll by the Napolitan News Survey, Republicans are losing the edge on the issue of the economy, with Democrats previously using this Achilles heel to criticize Trump. 

The recent news followed Trump imposing  a 10% tariff on nearly all imports. He later announced a 90-day pause on tariffs on dozens of countries, but also increased the tariff on China to 125%.