the numbers consumer sentiment rose in june to a fourmonth high of 639 as inflation eased and washington ended the latest debtceiling fight but americans still expect “difficult” times ahead the index produced by the university of michigan rose from 592 in may the consumersentiment survey reveals how consumers feel about their own finances as well as the broader economy sentiment is far below a recent peak of 883 in 2021 and a prepandemic high of 101 the index dropped to an alltime low of 50 last summer key details a gauge that measures what consumers think about the current state of the economy increased to 680 from 649 in may a measure that asks about expectations for the next six months moved up to 613 from 554 in may both indexes are still quite low however inflation expectations came down americans think inflation will average 33 in the next year down from 42 in the may survey they also believe inflation will average about 3 annually in the next five years well above prepandemic levels big picture americans say they don’t feel confident in the economy but the unemployment sits near a 50year low the stock market is rising again and inflation is slowly coming down a widely predicted recession also still appears far off looking ahead the rise in sentiment in june reflects “greater optimism as inflation eased and policymakers resolved the debt ceiling crisis” said joanne hsu director of the survey “a majority of consumers still expect difficult times in the economy over the next year” market reaction the dow jones industrial average djia and sp 500 spx rose in friday trades