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US consumer sentiment rises but remains subdued
PAUL WISEMAN
AP Economics Writer //December 5, 2025//
Black Friday Shoppers wait in line to enter Macy's flagship store on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (Photo by Angelina Katsanis/AFP)
Black Friday Shoppers wait in line to enter Macy's flagship store on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (Photo by Angelina Katsanis/AFP)
US consumer sentiment rises but remains subdued
PAUL WISEMAN
AP Economics Writer //December 5, 2025//
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumers’ mood improved slightly this month, with worries about inflation easing a bit, but remains gloomy.
In Brief:
- U.S. consumer sentiment rose to 53.3 in early December
- Inflation expectations dipped to the lowest level since January
- Tariffs have pushed the average U.S. rate to its highest since 1935
- Consumers remain burdened by high prices despite easing concerns
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, released Friday in a preliminary version, rose to 53.3 early this month from a final reading of 51 in November. The index beat the 52 mark that economists had forecast, but is down considerably from 71.7 in January.
Consumers’ evaluation of current economic conditions slipped slightly, but their expectations for the future brightened somewhat.
Expectations for year-ahead inflation dipped to 4.1% from 4.5% last month to the lowest level since January, when Donald Trump returned to the White House and began imposing sweeping taxes and tariffs on imports from countries around the world. Economists warn that importers pay the tariffs and then pass the cost on to their customers through higher prices.
Trump has reached a series of deals with major U.S. trading partners, including the European Union and Japan, that brought his tariffs down from the punishingly high levels he’d threatened in the spring. Still, the average U.S. tariff rate has climbed from 2.4% in January to 16.8% last month, the highest since 1935, according to calculations by the Budget Lab at Yale University.
Joanne Hsu, who directs the Michigan economic surveys, said: “The overall tenor of views is broadly somber, as consumers continue to cite the burden of high prices.″
Inflation has fallen from the highs reached in mid-2022 but remains stubbornly above the Federal Reserve‘s 2% target.
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