Consumer confidence declines in December-survey

FILE PHOTO: People shop at The Grove mall in Los Angeles November 26, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in December, likely as a deterioration in the labor market amid renewed business restriction to slow the raging pandemic offset the rolling out of a vaccine for COVID-19.

The Conference Board said on Tuesday its consumer confidence index dropped to a reading of 88.6 this month from 92.9 in November. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index ticking up to 97.0 in December. The index was at 132.6 in February.

Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

source: reuters.com