U.S. consumer confidence edged up in December, but overall sentiment remains cautious.

PANews, December 5—According to Jintou, Joanne Hsu, Director of the University of Michigan Consumer Survey, stated that the preliminary consumer sentiment index for December rose by 2.3 points to 53.3, an increase that falls within the margin of error. This month’s growth was mainly concentrated among younger consumer groups. While views on current conditions changed little, expectations improved—personal financial expectations rose by 13%, with all age, income, education, and political groups showing improvement. However, the December personal financial expectations index remains nearly 12% lower than at the beginning of the year. Labor market expectations saw a slight improvement but remain relatively subdued. Consumers believe some indicators have improved slightly compared to November, but overall sentiment remains generally cautious, with the burden of high prices still cited as a major ongoing pressure. Looking ahead, one-year inflation expectations fell from 4.5% in November to 4.1% in December, the lowest level since January 2025, marking four consecutive months of decline. However, short-term inflation expectations remain higher than January’s 3.3%. Long-term inflation expectations fell from 3.4% in November to 3.2% in December, matching the reading from January 2025. (Jin10 Data APP)