The National Federation of Independent Business reported a decline in small-business optimism index in January, dropping from 91.9 to 89.9, indicating a decline in confidence among US small businesses due to a decline in income expectations and high inflation. The index, which has been below the long-term average for over two years, has been lagging. Small business owners optimism has declined due to inflation, according to NFIB's chief economist Bill Dunkelberg. 20% of owners identified price increases as their main concern, while 22% raised average selling prices. Inflation is expected to have declined to 2.9% in January. However, more businesses are gloomy about their sales prospects, with the net proportion of owners expecting volumes to increase declining more than 12 points. Small business owners are making appropriate adjustments to address the ongoing economic challenges they face.