Consumer morale dips, worries over growth

"This number is probably consistent with what the Federal Reserve forecast - moderate growth in the second half. The focus now will shift to June inflation releases," said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Bank of America Investment Strategies Group in Boston.

The Fed has raised rates in 17 consecutive quarter percentage point steps to 5.25 percent and has left the door open to either halting or keeping going in the months ahead, depending on the outlook for growth and inflation.

It got more goods news on the inflation front on Friday after Labor Department data showed that import prices rose just 0.1 percent last month, below expectations, as petroleum costs slipped for the first time in fourth months.

Excluding a 1.4 percent drop in the cost of petroleum imports, import prices rose 0.4 percent, partly reflecting a big jump in metals prices, the Labor Department said.

However, U.S. crude oil futures jumped record highs on Friday, with the December contract at over $80 a barrel on Friday on escalating violence in the Middle East.

While June's 0.1 percent gain in overall import prices came in below the 0.3 percent advance Wall Street economists had expected.

(Additional reporting by Tim Ahmann in Washington and John Parry in New York)