diff --git a/icu4c/source/test/cintltst/ccapitst.c b/icu4c/source/test/cintltst/ccapitst.c
index b238ee65d7c..9d529e3deab 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/test/cintltst/ccapitst.c
+++ b/icu4c/source/test/cintltst/ccapitst.c
@@ -837,8 +837,11 @@ static void TestConvert()
 
 
         /*Reads the BOM*/
-        size_t numRead = fread(&BOM, sizeof(UChar), 1, ucs_file_in);
-        (void)numRead;
+        {
+            // Note: gcc produces a compile warning if the return value from fread() is ignored.
+            size_t numRead = fread(&BOM, sizeof(UChar), 1, ucs_file_in);
+            (void)numRead;
+        }
         if (BOM!=0xFEFF && BOM!=0xFFFE) 
         {
             log_err("File Missing BOM...Bailing!\n");