U.S. consumer sentiment hits record low at 49.8; inflation expectations surge to 4.8%

The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to a record low of 49.8 in April. One-year inflation expectations jumped 100 basis points from 3.8% in March to 4.8% in April, the largest monthly move since April 2025. Headline CPI rose 0.9% month-on-month in March (the highest since June 2022), with gasoline climbing 21.2% (the largest increase since 1967 in the BLS dataset). Average gasoline prices crossed the $4 mark and diesel surpassed $5.