A closely watched inflation gauge cooled last month in a sign that prices were steadily easing before most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs were implemented.

The Consumer Confidence Index plunged in April, reaching the lowest level in five years, and reveals consumers' pessimism for the future.

U.S. consumer spending increased solidly in March as households boosted purchases of motor vehicles to avoid higher prices and shortages due to tariffs, but that did little to change economists' views that the economy had shifted into lower gear.