US Consumer Sentiment Soars in Early September — But Tariff Fears Loom

U.S. consumer sentiment rose significantly in September, according to a University of Michigan survey.

The figure blossomed to 100.8 from 96.2 in August, reaching the second highest mark since July 2004 (behind March of this year).

The positive growth was spurred by more favorable prospects for jobs and incomes, according to Survey of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtain.

“Consumers anticipated continued growth in the economy that would produce more jobs and an even lower unemployment rate during the year ahead,” he wrote.

Although many consumers said they believed the economy would continue to expand uninterrupted over the next five years, almost as many stated that they believed economic downturn could be arising within the same time frame.

Despite the overall sunny outlook, almost a third of those surveyed brought up concerns regarding the potential impact of tariffs on the domestic economy.

“The largest problem cited on the economic horizon involved the anticipated negative impact from tariffs,” Curtain stated. “Concerns about the negative impact of tariffs on the domestic economy were spontaneously mentioned by nearly one-third of all consumers in the past three months, up from one-in-five in the prior four months.”

These concerns come on the heels of recent tariffs the U.S. placed on goods from trade partners including the European Union and China, which in turn led to tariffs going the other way.

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