U.S. Consumer Sentiment Shows Continued Improvement In December

(RTTNews) - Consumer sentiment in the U.S. showed a notable improvement in the month of December, according to a report released by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan on Friday, with the consumer sentiment index unrevised from the preliminary estimate.

The report showed that the final reading on the consumer sentiment index for December came in at 82.5, up from the final November reading of 75.1. Economists had expected the index to be upwardly revised to a reading of 83.5.

With the monthly increase, the consumer sentiment index further offset recent decreases, climbing back toward the six-year high of 85.1 set in July.

"Most of the gain was due to more favorable buying plans due to renewed discounting as well as more favorable short-term prospects for the economy," survey director Richard Curtin said, according to Reuters.

He added, "Personal finances, the most critical factor that shapes consumer spending, did improve in late December, although largely due to rising incomes and wealth among those in the top third."

The report said that the barometer of current economic conditions in December was upwardly revised to 98.6 from 97.7, coming in well above the November reading of 88.0.

Meanwhile, the gauge of consumer expectations was downwardly revised to 72.1 from 72.7 but was still above the 66.8 recorded for the previous month.

On the inflation front, one-year inflation expectations ticked up to 3 percent in December from 2.9 percent in November, while the five-to-ten-year inflation outlook dipped to 2.7 percent from 2.9 percent.