Investing.com - U.S. consumer confidence fell more than forecast in December, dampening optimism over the outlook for the consumption-driven economy, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Conference Board, a market research group, said its index of consumer confidence declined to 122.1 this month from a reading of 128.6 (revised down from an initial 129.5) in November.
Analysts had expected the index to drop to just 128.0 in December.
The Present Situation Index increased from 154.9 to 156.6, while the Expectations Index declined from 111.0 last month to 99.1 this month
“Consumer confidence retreated in December after reaching a 17-year high in November,” Lynn Franco, director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, said.
“The decline in confidence was fueled by a somewhat less optimistic outlook for business and job prospects in the coming months,” she added.
However, Franco noted that consumers’ assessment of current conditions improved moderately and that, despite the decline in confidence, consumers’ expectations "remained at historically strong levels, suggesting economic growth will continue well into 2018.”
The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was December 15.
After the report, which was released simultaneously with November pending home sales, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1902 from around 1.1904 ahead of the publication; GBP/USD was at 1.3410 from 1.3415 earlier; while USD/JPY was at 113.29 from 113.31 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, traded at 92.57 compared to 92.58 prior to the release.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were trading slightly higher after the open. The Dow 30 edged forward 12 points, or 0.05%, the S&P 500 gained 3 points or 0.12%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded up 17 points, or 0.25%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures were unchanged at $1,289.90 a troy ounce, while crude oil traded at $59.80 a barrel from $59.72 earlier.