WASHINGTON -- U.S. consumers' mood improved slightly this month, with worries about inflation easing a bit but remaining gloomy.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index, released Friday in a preliminary version, rose to 53.3 early this month after a final reading of 51 in November. The index beat the 52 mark that economists had forecast but is down considerably from 71.7 in January.

Consumers' evaluation of current economic conditions slipped slightly, but their expectations for the future brightened somewhat.

Expectations for year-ahead inflation dipped from last month's 4.5% to 4.1%, the lowest level since January when Donald Trump returned to the White House and began imposing sweeping tariffs on imports from countries around the world.

Trump has reached a series of de

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