Michigan Survey Hits Record‑Low Consumer Confidence
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- University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers recorded an all‑time low in consumer confidence in May, according to a preliminary reading released last week.
- Beth Hammack of the Cleveland Fed said the cumulative price increase over recent years amounts to about a decade’s worth of inflation in half the time.
- PNC Financial Services analysis found that high prices drove most of the decline in consumer sentiment from 2019 to 2026 and that a model of economic conditions stopped moving in line with sentiment in recent years.
- Brian LeBlanc noted that Google searches for “inflation” reached all‑time highs earlier this year, showing heightened public focus on price growth.
- Eric Winograd warned that consumers have not had time to recover from one economic shock before another hits, contributing to persistent pessimism.
Why it matters: May's record‑low confidence index signals that households are curbing spending, hurting retailers and forcing policymakers to confront lingering inflation expectations as price growth remains high despite a cooling headline inflation rate.
