U.S. consumer sentiment slumps for third month in a row amid tariff chaos

U.S. consumer sentiment in March fell for the third month in a row as concerns about the economy intensified amid tariff chaos, according to the University of Michigan's latest survey released Friday.

Consumer sentiment slid another 10.5 percent this month, "with declines seen consistently across all groups by age, education, income, wealth, political affiliations, and geographic regions," the survey said, posting a reading of 57.9.

The latest figure is 27.1 percent lower than that of March last year.

"While current economic conditions were little changed, expectations for the future deteriorated across multiple facets of the economy, including personal finances, labor markets, inflation, business conditions, and stock markets," the survey said.

"Many consumers cited the high level of uncertainty around policy and other economic factors; frequent gyrations in economic policies make it very difficult for consumers to plan for the future," it continued.

Year-ahead inflation expectations jumped up from 4.3 percent last month to 4.9 percent this month, the highest reading since November 2022 and marking three consecutive months of "unusually large" increases of 0.5 percentage points or more, the survey noted.

Long-run inflation expectations surged from 3.5 percent in February to 3.9 percent in March. This is the largest month-over-month increase seen since 1993, it added.