U.S. Consumer Sentiment at Highest in 11 Years

U.S. consumer sentiment rose in January to its highest in more than a decade on gains in jobs and wages and on lower gasoline prices, a survey released on Friday showed.

The University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment for this month came in at 98.2, the highest since January 2004 and above the median forecast of 94.1 among 72 economists polled by Reuters. The final December reading was 93.6.

The survey's gauge of consumer expectations rose to 91.6 from 86.4, beating the 87.0 forecast.

The survey's barometer of current economic conditions rose to 108.3 from 104.8 and above the 105.4 forecast.

The survey's one-year inflation expectation fell to 2.4 percent from 2.8 percent, while its five-year inflation outlook held unchanged at 2.8 percent.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)