US Consumer Sentiment Falls as Inflation Expectations Climb

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2. GRAPH of consumer sentiment

From the source: https://www.sca.isr.umich.edu/

Consumer Sentiment Index Graph - https://www.sca.isr.umich.edu/files/chicsr.pdf



Other than some of the last few months, and other than the trough when inflation peaked in mid-2022, consumer sentiment is lowest in 10 years.

(There's also a 50 year graph available).

What always gobsmacks me about this graph (and similar from the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence) was how paradisical people viewed the economy in Trump's pre-Covid years -- much higher sentiment than even the peaks of what followed (peaks in early 2021 and in early 2024). And certainly higher than in the fall of 2024 -- the months before the 2024 election.