US inflation expectations continue to decline in July, with little change in consumer confidence

According to BlockBeats, on July 18th, Joanne Hsu, director of consumer research at the University of Michigan, stated that US consumer confidence has not changed much compared to June, with a slight increase of about 1 point to 61.8. Although the index has reached a five month high, it is still about 16% lower than December 2024 and far below the historical average. Unless consumers are confident that inflation is unlikely to worsen, such as trade policies stabilizing in the foreseeable future, they are unlikely to regain confidence in the economy. The current interview results show little evidence that other policy changes, including recently passed tax and spending bills, have had a significant impact on consumer confidence. The inflation expectation for the next year has decreased for the second consecutive month, from 5.0% last month to 4.4% this month. Long term inflation expectations have fallen for the third consecutive month, from 4.0% in June to 3.6% in July. Both indices are at their lowest levels since February 2025, but still higher than December 2024, indicating that consumers still believe there is a high risk of inflation rising in the future. (Golden Ten)