Lates News

In early June, American consumer confidence rose for the first time in four months due to a drop in gasoline prices, bringing some relief to Americans facing skyrocketing inflation. A survey released on Friday showed that the initial value of the University of Michigan's consumer confidence index in June rose from a record low of 44.8 in May to 48.9. Economists had expected the confidence index to rise slightly to 46. Consumers expect prices to increase by 4.6% compared to the same period last year, a decrease from 4.8% in May. They also expect costs to rise at an average annual rate of 3.4% over the next five to ten years, lower than the previous month's expectations. Despite gasoline prices still being higher than pre-war levels, the recent decline in prices over the past few weeks has slightly alleviated Americans' pessimism about their personal financial situation. The report shows a noticeable improvement in the situation of low-income consumers, who typically allocate more of their budget to fuel expenses. Nevertheless, amidst the backdrop of the war in Iran and the resulting inflation surge, overall economic sentiment remains at historically low levels. Joanne Hsu, the head of the survey, said, "Although there has been some relief, gasoline prices still significantly affect consumers, so the current level of gasoline prices is still generally unacceptable to consumers and weakens their view of the economy."