US consumer sentiment continued to pick up steam in early January, rising to the highest level in eight months as Americans became more optimistic about job prospects, a survey released on Friday showed. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment rose to 74.0 from 69.9 in December, making for the fifth month of gains and the highest level since May 2011.
The report topped expectations of 71.5 among economists polled by Reuters. The survey's barometer of current economic conditions rose to the highest level since February at 82.6 from 79.6, while the survey's gauge of consumer expectations gained to 68.4 from 63.6. Thirty-four percent of consumers said they had heard of recent job gains, a record high in the survey's history and well above December's 21 percent.