PANews reported on February 25 that according to Jinshi, U.S. consumer confidence fell sharply in February, and pessimism about the future returned. According to the Conference Board data, the consumer confidence index fell 7 points to 98.3 in February, and the expectations index fell 9.3 points to 72.9. This is the first time since June 2024 that the expectations index has fallen below the critical value of 80, which indicates an economic recession.

"Consumer confidence posted its largest monthly drop since August 2021 in February, marking the third straight month of month-over-month declines and bringing the index to the bottom of its range since 2022," said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist at The Conference Board. "Of the five components, only consumers' assessment of current business conditions improved slightly. Consumers became pessimistic about future business conditions and were less optimistic about future income. Pessimism about future employment prospects climbed to a ten-month high." Guichard added: "The 12-month average inflation expectations surged to 6% in February from 5.2%. Mentions of inflation and general prices in correspondence remain high, but the focus has shifted to other topics. Mentions of trade and tariffs rose sharply, returning to levels not seen since 2019."