Consumer Sentiment Continues To Rise In July Despite Trump’s Tariff War Escalation

Consumers in early July continued to be less pessimistic about economic conditions, even as President Donald Trump escalated the tariff war after the July 9 deadline passed.

According to the University of Michigan survey released on Friday, the index of consumer sentiment rose to 61.8 in July, continuing its upward trend from the previous month.

Although this was the fifth consecutive month of improvement in consumer sentiment, it remains 16% lower than in December.

The survey also showed people were more optimistic about the economic conditions, rising to 66.8 from 64.8 in the previous month.

This comes even as President Trump sent out more than two dozen tariff letters over the past two weeks. The President also stated that 150 countries would receive letters, with the tariff rate likely to be 10% to 15%.

The survey also revealed that people increasingly expect inflation to be lower over the next year – the year-ahead inflation expectations fell to 4.4%, from 5% a month ago.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities appear poised for a positive opening on Friday as investors react to the strong earnings reported so far this week.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which mirrors the S&P 500 index, was up 0.09% at the time of writing during the morning trade, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which mirrors the Nasdaq, gained 0.02%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘bullish’ territory.

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