Consumer inflation fears spike in February as tariff worries hit sentiment

Consumers are increasingly concerned about near-term inflation due to President Trump’s aggressive tariffs on major U.S. trading partners, with the University of Michigan consumer survey for February showing a 1 percentage point jump in inflation expectations to 4.3%, the highest level since November 2023. Despite tariff postponements, fears of price increases impacting consumers persisted, leading to a decline in overall sentiment and a notable drop in the various survey indexes, reflecting a perception that it may be too late to avoid the negative impact of tariff policy.

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