Consumer Confidence Ticks Higher In December, But Remains Range-Bound

Data today showed that Consumer Confidence in December rose to 52.9, up from 50.6 in November but slightly below the consensus of 53. The Present Situation Index declined to 18.8 from 21.2 in November.

The index is up from an all-time low of 25 in February 2009, but hasn't broken out above the 50 range that it has been at since May.

Consumers expectations for the short-term future increased to the highest level in two years. The data showed that consumers had a more optimistic outlook for business and labor market, although they remain rather pessimistic about their short-term income prospects.

While expectations for the short-term improved, consumers' assessment of current-day conditions declined further in December. Those claiming business conditions are "bad" increased to 46.6 percent from 44.5 percent, while those claiming conditions are "good" decreased to 7.0 percent from 8.1 percent.

The outlook for the the jobs market improved, with those expecting more jobs to become available in the months ahead increasing to 16.2 percent from 15.8 percent.