the spdr sp 500 etf trust spy bounced off its lows friday after the latest reading of consumer confidence suggests rising prices and economic uncertainty may be negatively impacting us consumers what happened the university of michigan has announced the preliminary results of its march survey of consumers the index for consumer sentiment was up 67 yearoveryear but down 54 compared to february the index for economic conditions was also down 12 yearoveryear and 61 on a monthly basis related link how have bank failures impacted the outlook for interest rates the consumer sentiment index suggests consumers are somewhat concerned about inflation economic uncertainty and sluggish financial markets the labor department reported this month that the consumer price index cpi was up 6 in february down from a 40year high of 91 back in june 2022 the university of michigan reported the index for consumer expectations dropped 49 compared to february but is up 133 from a year ago why it matters the sp 500 has given up most of its january gains as persistent inflation rising interest rates and instability among regional banks has weighed on investors optimism the university of michigan said friday the median expected yearahead inflation rate among consumers is 38 down from 42 in february while inflation may finally be subsiding its still well above the federal reserves longterm target of 2 it remains to be seen just how much higher the fed will need to raise interest rates to bring inflation down to its target range investors will get their next key economic update wednesday when the federal reserve releases its latest interest rate decision and accompanying commentary