Investing.com – U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly declined in May, dampening optimism over the American economy, according to a report published on Friday.
The preliminary publication of the data for June from the University of Michigan's Consumer Survey Center showed that consumer sentiment fell to 94.5 from 97.1 in the previous month.
Analysts had forecast the reading to remain unchanged.
The current conditions indicator also registered an unexpected decline to 109.6 in June.
Consensus was looking for the reading to remain unchanged at May’s reading of 111.7.
Additionally, consumer expectations fell more than expected to 84.7 in June, from the prior reading of 87.7.
Economists had expected the indicator to drop to just 87.5.
Meanwhile, inflation expectations for the next 12 months remained unchanged at 2.6%, although the five-year gauge increased to 2.6%, from the prior 2.4%.
After the report, which was released simultaneously with the Fed Labor Market Conditions index, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1176 from around 1.1174 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.2774, compared to 1.2769 previously, while USD/JPY was at 110.89 from 110.87 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was unchanged at 97.29.
Meanwhile, U.S. stocks traded lower after the open. The Dow Jones dropped 27 points, or 0.13%, while the S&P 500 lost 5 points, or 0.21%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 8 points, or 0.14%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,256.73 a troy ounce, compared to $1,256.95 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $44.73, compared to $44.77 prior to the release.