Consumer sentiment in the U.S. came in better than expected for January, according to a Friday report.
The index of consumer sentiment hit 93.3, data from Surveys of Consumers showed. The reading is also the highest since June, according to Reuters.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected consumer sentiment to rise slightly, to 93, from the prior month. Consumer sentiment was at 92.6 in December.
"Consumer confidence inched upward for the fourth consecutive month due to more positive expectations for future economic growth. Personal financial prospects have remained largely unchanged during the past year at the most favorable levels since 2007 largely due to trends in inflation rather than wages," Richard Curtin, Surveys of Consumers chief economist, said in a statement.
Curtin also said consumers are likely to reduce their pace of spending "and thus act to erase the Fed's rationale for higher interest rates."
"Given the favorable overall state of the Sentiment Index, the data continue to indicate that real personal consumption expenditures can be expected to advance by 2.8% in 2016."