Irish consumer sentiment drops to two-year low on trade war uncertainty

Households hit by a bewildering number of pronouncements, qualifications, postponements and rumours on trade measures

The drop in consumer confidence here is comparable to but slightly larger than marked sentiment declines elsewhere. US consumer sentiment has dropped to its second-lowest monthly reading since 1953. Picture Denis Minihane.

Irish consumer sentiment has fallen to its lowest level in two years on the back of a global trade war set off by US president Donald Trump.

The findings of the April Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Survey now show that the gap between current conditions and expectations for the future is the largest since the threat of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit in late 2020.