US consumer sentiment plunges on tariff fears, inflation expectations jump

U.S. consumer sentiment plunged to a nearly 2-1/2-year low in March and inflation expectations soared amid worries that President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, which have ignited a trade war, would boost prices and undercut the economy. The deterioration in sentiment and inflation expectations reported by the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers recently was across political party affiliation, with consumers saying "frequent gyrations in economic policies make it very difficult for consumers to plan for the future."