{"id":127545,"date":"2026-05-22T18:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T14:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/?p=127545"},"modified":"2026-05-22T18:26:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T14:26:23","slug":"u-s-consumer-sentiment-crashes-to-all-time-low-iran-war-gasoline-shock-sends-inflation-fears-to-multi-decade-highs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/u-s-consumer-sentiment-crashes-to-all-time-low-iran-war-gasoline-shock-sends-inflation-fears-to-multi-decade-highs\/05\/22\/market-updates\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Consumer Sentiment Crashes to All-Time Low: Iran War Gasoline Shock Sends Inflation Fears to Multi-Decade Highs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Takeaways<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Record low sentiment:<\/strong> The University of Michigan&#8217;s Consumer Sentiment Index plunged to an all-time low of 44.8 in May, down from 48.2 earlier in the month and 49.8 in April.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Missed expectations:<\/strong> Economists had forecast no change from the preliminary 48.2 reading.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Gasoline the culprit:<\/strong> Surging pump prices driven by the Iran war are the primary driver of consumer anxiety.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>57% cite high prices:<\/strong> More than half of consumers spontaneously mentioned that elevated prices were eroding their personal finances \u2014 up from 50% last month.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Partisan sentiment collapse:<\/strong> Both independents and Republicans saw their sentiment fall to the lowest readings of the current presidential administration.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Near-term inflation fears rise:<\/strong> One-year inflation expectations climbed to 4.8% from 4.7% in April.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Long-term inflation alarm:<\/strong> Five-year inflation expectations surged to 3.9% from 3.5% \u2014 a significant jump signaling entrenched price pessimism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>U.S. consumer sentiment plunged to a record low in May as surging gasoline prices caused by the war with Iran fueled anxiety over worsening affordability, a closely watched survey showed on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The University of Michigan&#8217;s Surveys of Consumers said its Consumer Sentiment Index dropped to a final reading of 44.8 \u2014 an all-time low \u2014 from 48.2 earlier this month. The index stood at 49.8 in April. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index to remain unchanged at 48.2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The cost of living continues to be a first-order concern, with 57% of consumers spontaneously mentioning that high prices were eroding their personal finances, up from 50% last month,&#8221; said Joanne Hsu, director of the Surveys of Consumers. &#8220;Independents and Republicans saw decreases in sentiment, with both groups reaching their lowest readings of the current presidential administration.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The survey&#8217;s measure of consumer expectations for inflation over the next year rose to 4.8% from 4.7% in April. Consumers&#8217; expectations for inflation over the next five years shot up to 3.9% from 3.5% last month \u2014 a notable jump that signals deepening concern about the persistence of price pressures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Record low sentiment: The University of Michigan&#8217;s Consumer Sentiment Index plunged to an all-time low of 44.8 in May, down from 48.2 earlier in the month and 49.8 in April. Missed expectations: Economists had forecast no change from the preliminary 48.2 reading. Gasoline the culprit: Surging pump prices driven by the Iran war &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":53203,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-forex-markets","category-market-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127545"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127546,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127545\/revisions\/127546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noortrends.ae\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}