Sales at retail stores and restaurants rose just 0.1% in April from March, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That is much lower than the previous month’s 1.7% gain, which reflected a surge in car sales as consumers sought to get ahead of President Trump’s 25% duty on auto imports that went into effect this month.

Last month’s tiny increase after the March surge makes it harder to get a clear read on consumer spending trends and reflects the ongoing turmoil and uncertainty in the economy in the wake of Trump’s stop-and-go tariff policies. Many publicly-traded companies have withdrawn or held off on the traditional practice of forecasting their revenues and earnings for the rest of this year because the economic landscape has become so chaotic.