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Washington
CNN
—
Americans have gained some hope that the worst of President Donald Trump’s volatile trade war might be in the rearview mirror.
Consumer sentiment surged 16% this month to a preliminary reading of 60.5, the University of Michigan said in its latest survey released Friday. That was the first increase in sentiment since December, rising from the near-record lows of the spring when American consumers and businesses grew pessimistic in the thick of Trump’s tariff blitz.
This month’s uptick in sentiment was largely attributed to trade tensions easing from a fever pitch in April.
“Consumers appear to have settled somewhat from the shock of the extremely high tariffs announced in April and the policy volatility seen in the weeks that followed,” said Joanne Hsu, the survey’s director, in a release. “However, consumers still perceive wide-ranging downside risks to the economy.”
Still, sentiment is about 20% below December, and Americans could become jittery again if trade tensions flare up.
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