Consumer sentiment ticked higher in February for the second consecutive month as inflation<\/a> fears appeared to ease, though shopper attitudes remained well below levels registered a year ago, University of Michigan<\/a> data on Friday showed. The reading exceeded economists’ expectations<\/p>\n At its low point in November, consumer sentiment fell close to its worst level since a pandemic-era bout of acute inflation. Modest gains in recent months indicate some positive momentum for shoppers.<\/p>\n Year-ahead inflation expectations dropped from 4% in January to 3.5% in February, the data showed. The outcome anticipated by respondents would put inflation above its current level of 2.7%.<\/p>\n The labor market has slowed<\/a> in recent months, while inflation has hovered above the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.<\/p>\n Despite these challenges, some major economic indicators remain upbeat.<\/p>\n In the fall, shoppers helped propel<\/a> the fastest quarterly U.S. economic growth in two years, federal government data in December showed.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a relatively small fraction of American adults are unemployed and looking for work. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.4% in December from 4.6% in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a> said, putting unemployment at a low level by historical standards.<\/p>\n Customers shops for fruit in a supermarket in New York City, January 22, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Charly Triballeau\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Turmoil in markets this week, however, has prompted concern among some observers about the financial outlook.<\/p>\n Some major tech stocks plummeted<\/a> in recent days after Anthropic unveiled an artificial intelligence tool viewed by some investors as a potential replacement for widely-used software products.<\/p>\n![\"Greenland\"](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/15c4e6cd-a1b4-4ff8-add7-14b87c891f40\/grocery-store-2-gty-gmh-260206_1770388618003_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"Greenland\\"")
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