Consumer sentiment drops amid economic uncertainty [Video]

U.S. consumer sentiment plunged in April, the fourth consecutive month of declines, in a seemingly sharp rebuke of President Donald Trump’s trade wars that have fueled anxiety over possible job losses and rising inflation.The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan’s closely watched consumer sentiment index, released Friday, fell 11% on a monthly basis to 50.8, the lowest since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past year, sentiment has tumbled 34%.The decline was “pervasive and unanimous across age, income, education, geographic region, and political affiliation,” said Joanne Hsu, director of the survey.The share of respondents expecting unemployment to rise in the coming months increased for the fifth straight month and is now the highest since 2009 during the Great Recession.While consumer sentiment is not always a reliable indicator of the overall economy, it has at times reflected shifting vibes in how the public feels about presidential leadership. Sentiment …