US consumers felt less confident in early August than they did last month as high oil prices and slowing job creation clouded expectations for the economy, according to a private survey published on Friday.
The University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment fell to 94.0 in early August from 96.7 at the end of July, said market sources who saw the subscription-only report. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the index to rise to 97.50.
The current conditions component rose to 108.4 from 105.2 in July, but the expectations index dropped to 84.7 from 91.2.
"It's interesting in the sense that you have an eight-month high on current conditions and a four-month low on expectations,' said Steven Wieting, senior economist at Citigroup in New York.
Other sentiment gauges have shown consumers remaining largely upbeat, but a slowdown in job creation in July, a rebound in oil prices to record highs and heightened security concerns could be taking their toll on confidence.
"It was down but not out of line with what we're seeing everywhere else - there has been a lot of negative data," said Mark Vitner, senior economist, Wachovia Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"The economy is slowing but it isn't going in reverse. There is plenty to worry about but there is also some reason to be optimistic, for instance this morning's producer price index showed inflation moderated in July," he said.
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