Small business optimism in the United States has slightly increased, with improved expectations for sales.

In August, small business confidence in the United States slightly increased, mainly due to business owners being more optimistic about the health of their companies and reaching the strongest level of optimism about sales in six months. According to data released on Tuesday, the National Federation of Independent Business's Small Business Optimism Index rose 0.5 points to 100.8, the highest level since January. Of the 10 subcomponents that make up this index, 4 improved and 2 remained unchanged. NFIB stated that a net 12% of business owners expect retail sales to increase in the next three months, a 6 percentage point increase from before, which contributed the most to the overall increase in the optimism index.