After reporting a substantial rebound by U.S. consumer sentiment in the previous month, the University of Michigan released a report on Friday showing a more modest improvement by consumer sentiment in the month of July.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index climbed to 61.8 in July after surging to 60.7 in June.
With the slightly bigger than expected increase, the consumer sentiment index reached its highest level since hitting 64.7 in February.
The report also said the current economic conditions index rose to 66.8 in July from 64.8 in June, while the index of consumer expectations inched up to 58.6 in July from 58.1 in June.
On the inflation front, the report said year-ahead inflation expectations fell for a second straight month, plunging to 4.4 percent in July from 5.0 percent in June.
Long-run inflation expectations receded for the third consecutive month, falling to 3.6 percent in July from 4.0 percent in June.