The U.S. consumer confidence index showed a flat trend in October, with inflation expectations remaining at high levels.

ChainThink report, October 10, Joanne Hsu, director of the University of Michigan Consumer Survey, stated that U.S. consumer confidence in October showed a flat trend. The Consumer Confidence Index recorded 55 points, remaining basically unchanged from September. This month, consumers' views on their current personal financial situation and the business environment over the next year improved, but these improvements were offset by declines in expectations for their future personal finances and evaluations of current conditions for durable goods purchases. Overall, consumers believe that the economic outlook has not changed much compared to last month. Issues such as high prices and weak employment prospects, referred to as "wallet issues," remain the primary concerns for consumers.

Currently, consumers do not expect these factors to show significant improvement. At the same time, interviews showed that there is little evidence to suggest that the ongoing federal government shutdown has changed consumers' views on the economy. Meanwhile, inflation expectations for the next year decreased from 4.7% in the previous month to 4.6% this month, but remain high. Long-term inflation expectations remained stable at 3.7%. (Jinshi)