Tariffs are looming, inflation is still sticky and US consumers are bracing themselves for the impact. That’s according to data released Friday from the Commerce Department: Americans socked away money into savings,

An inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve remained high last month even before the impact of most tariffs has been felt. Americans’ spending rebounded in February after a steep fall last month and incomes increased.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged last week that inflation had started to rise "partly in response to tariffs."

Stockpiling ahead of potential tariff implementation on a wide range of consumer goods could lead to a pullback in goods spending later this year,” the Conference Board said.

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese household spending fell for the first time in three months in February, government data showed on Friday, highlighting consumer wariness in the face of high prices, but the decline was less than economists had feared.

“With persistent inflation impacting consumer spending on retail goods, the outlook for 2025 remains challenged, but increasingly stable with a projected 2 percent decline in 2025 and expected industry flattening through 2027,” the authors of the latest Future of Office Supplies report said.

High inflation and high interest rates have contributed to vulnerabilities among consumers, making them all the more susceptible at a time when the sheer unpredictability of the Trump administration’s policies — including massive tariffs that are projected to result in higher prices — are chilling spending and investment plans.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's seemingly locked-in path to a soft landing, already roiled by the arrival of the Trump administration, may be growing even more complicated as evidence of consumer caution about spending starts to align with new inflation risks and another jump in inflation expectations.