U.S. consumer sentiment rises in Jan, still burdened by high prices

The U.S. Consumer Sentiment Index released Friday by the University of Michigan (UM) Surveys of Consumers stood at 56.4 in the January 2026 survey, up from 52.9 in December but below last January's 71.7.

The Current Economic Conditions Index was 55.4, up from 50.4 in December but below last January's 75.1. The Index of Consumer Expectations came in at 57.0, up from 54.6 in December but below last January's 69.5.

Despite the improvement, national sentiment remains more than 20 percent below a year ago, as consumers continue to report pressures on their budgets stemming from high prices and the prospect of weakening incomes, said Joanne Hsu, director of the UM's Surveys of Consumers.

The survey found that overall, consumers remain focused on bread-and-butter issues, like the purchasing power of their incomes.

About 45 percent of consumers spontaneously mentioned that high prices were eroding their living standards, compared with 34 percent a year ago, and about 73 percent reported that it is a bad time to buy vehicles, with prices serving as the most-mentioned reason.

In January, about 62 percent of consumers expected unemployment to worsen in the year ahead, down slightly from December's 63 percent, the survey showed.

The University of Michigan specifically mentioned that interviews for this release concluded on Jan 19, two days after U.S. President Donald Trump's social media post announcing additional tariffs on eight countries in Europe.

U.S. consumer sentiment rises in Jan, still burdened by high prices

U.S. consumer sentiment rises in Jan, still burdened by high prices

At least one person has died and several others have been hospitalized after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia’s Maluku Strait early on Thursday morning, with the quake also causing varying degrees of damage to multiple buildings in Manado, the capital city of the North Sulawesi province. The quake struck at 06:48 local time Thursday at a magnitude of 7.4 and a depth of 30 kilometers, according to measurements by the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

There were scenes of panic outside a hospital in Manado when the quake hit, with several seconds of intense shaking causing cracks to appear in the building of the medical facility which belongs to the Siloam private healthcare group.

Patients and medical staff were urgently evacuated to the roadside, with some seen in wheelchairs or still connected to intravenous (IV) drips, while others were even pushed out of the wards on their hospital beds. A car parked downstairs was hit by falling debris, shattering its windows.

"Some people were sleeping at the time, some had just undergone surgery, and others were receiving treatment. The earthquake damaged the hospital's ceiling, and I also saw some cracks in the walls," said Billy Lombok, the family member of a patient.

A tsunami warning was issued but later lifted following the quake as Indonesian authorities observed no significant sea level changes.

Patients rushed out from hospital building as 7.4-magnitude quake hits Indonesia, killing one