University of Michigan Releases Final Results of Its Consumer Sentiment Index for April

On Friday, the University of Michigan released the final results of its Surveys of Consumers for April.

• The Index of Consumer Sentiment fell to a reading of 49.8 in April, down 6.6% from 53.3 in March. Year-over-year, the index was down 4.6% from 52.2 in April 2025.
• Current Economic Conditions fell to a reading of 52.5 in April, down 5.9% from 55.8 in March and down 12.2% from 59.8 in April 2025.
• The Index of Consumer Expectations fell to 48.1 in April, down 7.0% from 51.7 in March but up 1.7% from 47.3 in April 2025.

In remarks accompanying the release, Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said:

“Consumer sentiment ticked down 3.5 index points this month, now comparable to the trough seen in June 2022. Decreases in sentiment were seen across political party, income, age, and education. Expected business conditions declined for both short and long time horizons, nearly matching year-ago readings when the reciprocal tariff regime was implemented. After the two-week cease-fire was announced and gas prices softened a touch, sentiment recovered a modest portion of its early-month losses. The Iran conflict appears to influence consumer views primarily through shocks to gasoline and potentially other prices. In contrast, military and diplomatic developments that do not lift supply constraints or lower energy prices are unlikely to buoy consumers.

Year-ahead inflation expectations surged from 3.8% in March to 4.7% this month, the largest one-month increase since April 2025. The current reading exceeds those seen in 2024 and remains well above the 2.3–3.0% range seen in the two years pre-pandemic. After hovering between 3.2 and 3.3% for the previous four months, long-run inflation expectations climbed to 3.5% in April, the highest reading since October 2025. In 2024, values ranged between 2.8% and 3.2%, while in 2019 and 2020, they were consistently below 2.8%.”