Joanne Hsu, director of consumer surveys at the University of Michigan, stated that the Consumer Confidence Index has confirmed the data from earlier this month, rising for the fifth consecutive month and reaching a new high since April 2024. Consumers believe that with inflation slowing down, the economy has improved significantly, but they do not feel that they are in a good developmental state; their current sentiment is roughly between the historical low point reached in June 2022 and the data before the COVID-19 pandemic. Inflation expectations for the next year have risen from 2.6% last month to 2.8% this month, the first month-to-month increase since May, but it remains within the range of 2.3%-3.0% in the two years before the pandemic. Long-term inflation expectations have slightly decreased from 3.2% last month to 3.0% this month, with a slight increase relative to the range in the two years before the pandemic.