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Consumer sentiment has improved for the first time in six months, according to preliminary data from the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.

The details: The index of consumer sentiment shot up 16% from last month’s survey but remains about 20% lower than the reading in December 2024.

• The surveys, taken between May 27 and June 9—after President Trump’s tariff pause but just before the U.S. and China announced a new trade agreement—show particularly big gains in short- and long-term expectations for business conditions.
• However, consumers still have lower expectations about a range of economic areas—from business conditions to personal finances to the stock market—than they did in December of last year.

Inflation: The survey also shows that inflation expectations dropped from 6.6% last month to 5.1%, while long-run inflation expectations declined from 4.2% to 4.1%. In both cases, these are the lowest readings in three months. Yet consumers are still more fearful about inflation than they were during the second half of last year.