The numbers: The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index in January skidded to a reading of 90.7 in January from 98.3, which is the worst reading since October 2016.

Economists polled by MarketWatch forecast a 97.5 reading.

What happened: The decline was particularly sharp for the expectations index, which fell to 78.3 from 87, while current economic conditions also fell, to 110 from 116.1.