US consumer confidence falls from 17-year high in December

Consumer confidence in the US slumped at the end of 2017, albeit after reaching a 17-year high in November, according to one of the most widely-tracked gauges of sentiment.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index retreated from a reading of 128.6 in November to 122.1 for December, as expectations soured.

Thus, the corresponding sub-index tracking consumer expectations retreated from a reading of 111.0 for last month to 99.1 in the current survey.

In parallel, the 'present situation' sub-index improved from 154.9 to 156.6.

Commenting on the survey results, 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.

"Consumers' assessment of current conditions, however, improved moderately. Despite the decline in confidence, consumers' expectations remain at historically strong levels, suggesting economic growth will continue well into 2018."

Regarding current conditions, the think-tank said assessments were "mixed"; however, the proportion of respondents who said jobs "were hard to get" fell from 16.8% to 15.2% - a 16-year low.

Meanwhile, according to the Conference Board, consumers' outlook for both business conditions and the jobs market both headed South in December.