Consumer Confidence Wobbles Amid Inflation Surge

0:00It's April 28th. This is US News Today, powered by AI Your Country, in real time. I'm Cory with the story. Consumer confidence in the US just ticked up a bit in April, hitting 92.8, up from 92.2 the month before. That's according to the conference board report from earlier this week. Even with gas prices skyrocketing from the war in Iran, folks aren't letting it tank their outlook completely. Even jumped hard last month, with prices up 3.3% from a year ago, the biggest yearly rise since May 2024. Gas thoughts largest monthly surge in six decades, and on a month-to-month basis, prices climbed 0.9%. The most in nearly four. Years. Everyday people are filling the pinch, especially lower and middle income families. Higher gas costs are eating into budgets, making food and rent tougher to cover. This say consumers are down about high prices on gas, housing, and electricity, and they

1:00won't cheer up until the Middle East mess cools off. The Federal Reserve faces a tough spot now. They cut rates three times late last year to help jobs, but with inflation sticky above their 2% goal, no cuts are coming from their meeting. This week, short-term expectations for jobs in business rose at touch to 72.2, but they've been under 80. 15 straight months. Current views on the economy dips slightly to 123.8. All this points to shaky times ahead, unless oil stabilizes and the Fed finds balance. Keep watching those pump prices.