The mood in US households is bad, at least when it comes to consumer spending. Never before has the consumer confidence index, which has been collected by the University of Michigan since 1960, been reported with a lower value than in May 2026. More than two months after their President Donald Trump got involved in the war in the Middle East, the population is complaining about increasing price pressure, especially at the country’s gas pumps. In fact, US inflation has jumped from 2.4 to 3.8 percent in April since the start of the war, and more and more households can only finance their spending on credit.
