Consumer sentiment in the U.S. has unexpectedly seen a continued deterioration in the month of July, according to a report released by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan on Friday.
The report showed that the consumer sentiment index fell to 72.0 in July from the final June reading of 73.2. Economists had been expecting the index to edge up to 73.5.
With the unexpected decrease, the consumer sentiment index pulled back further off the nearly five-year high of 79.3 seen in May.
Noting that the index has shown a relatively modest drop from its recent high, Jim O'Sullivan, Chief U.S. Economist at High Frequency Economics, said, "The lack of a plunge has helped prevent a repeat of last year's rampant 'double-dip' speculation."
"Conversely, however, the lack of a rebound, despite some help from lower gasoline prices and a modest bounce in equities in the past month, raises the specter of growth remaining stuck at a low level for a while," he added.
Concerns about the economic outlook contributed to the drop in consumer sentiment, with the consumer expectations index falling to 64.8 in July from 67.8 in June.
On the other hand, the current economic conditions index rose to 83.2 in June after tumbling to 81.5 in the previous month.
With regard to inflation, one-year inflation expectations fell to 2.8 percent in July from 3.1 percent in June, while five-year inflation expectations held steady at 2.8 percent.
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