Joanne Hsu, director of consumer research at the University of Michigan, said that the consumer confidence index remained flat this month, falling only slightly by 1.4 points after four consecutive months of sharp decline. Since January 2025, market confidence has declined by nearly 30%. Nearly three-quarters of consumers spontaneously mentioned tariffs, up from nearly 60% in April; trade policy uncertainty continues to dominate consumers' views on the economy. The investigation was conducted from April 22 to May 13, and ended two days after both China and the US announced the suspension of some tariffs. After the temporary reduction in tariffs, many survey indicators showed some signs of improvement, but these initial improvements were too small to change the overall situation — consumers continued to be pessimistic about the economy. The initial reaction so far echoes a slight rise in sentiment following the partial suspension of tariffs on April 9, although sentiment continues to trend downward.

Joanne Hsu, director of consumer research at the University of Michigan, said that the consumer confidence index remained flat this month, falling only slightly by 1.4 points after four consecutive months of sharp decline. Since January 2025, market confidence has declined by nearly 30%. Nearly three-quarters of consumers spontaneously mentioned tariffs, up from nearly 60% in April; trade policy uncertainty continues to dominate consumers' views on the economy. The investigation was conducted from April 22 to May 13, and ended two days after both China and the US announced the suspension of some tariffs. After the temporary reduction in tariffs, many survey indicators showed some signs of improvement, but these initial improvements were too small to change the overall situation — consumers continued to be pessimistic about the economy. The initial reaction so far echoes a slight rise in sentiment following the partial suspension of tariffs on April 9, although sentiment continues to trend downward.