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June 17, 2005 10:00 AM, EDT

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he University of Michigan said Friday its consumer sentiment index rose in June for the first time this year.

The university's preliminary consumer sentiment index for the month rose to 94.8, from 86.9 a month earlier. The improvement reflected a better outlook about the current state as well as the future course of the economy, Bloomberg reported.

Economists surveyed expected the index to rise to 88.8, Bloomberg reported.

The current conditions index, which reflects Americans' perception of their financial situation and whether it's a good time to buy big-ticket items, rose to 110.4 from 104.9 in May. The expectations index, based on optimism about the next one to five years, increased to 84.8 from 75.3 last month.

The preliminary index is based on a phone survey of about 300 households. The final report for the month, due July 1, will reflect about 500 responses.