Small business optimism in the United States weakened due to economic outlook.

In January, the small business owner confidence index in the United States slightly decreased for the first time in three months, due to weakening optimism about the economic outlook. Data released by the National Federation of Independent Business on Tuesday showed that the optimism index dropped by 0.2 points to 99.3. Out of the 10 sub-indexes that make up the index, 7 went down and 3 went up. The net percentage of business owners expecting an improvement in their business conditions fell by 3 points to 21%, after reaching a four-month high in December. Slower hiring plans and a decrease in the proportion of businesses reporting job vacancies also dragged down the index. Meanwhile, a net 16% of business owners expect their sales to improve in the next three months after adjusting for inflation, which is an increase of 6 percentage points from December and the highest in a year. Additionally, 15% of business owners believe that now is a good opportunity to expand their businesses, reaching a six-month high. The net percentage of business owners planning to raise average selling prices fell to a three-month low of 26%, indicating that inflation pressure is easing. However, this data is still well above the historical average of 13%. More businesses are planning to raise prices in the next three months.