U.S. consumer sentiment rises to a twelve-year peak in December

U.S. consumer sentiment rose to a twelve-year high in December, as more consumers expected Trump's policies will improve U.S. economy.

The final reading of the consumer sentiment for December increased to 98.2 from 93.8 in November, the highest level since January 2004, said the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment on Friday.

"An all-time record number of consumers, 18 percent, spontaneously mentioned the expected favorable impact of Trump's policies on the economy," said survey director Richard Curtin in a statement.

"This was twice as high as the prior peak, 9 percent, recorded in 1981 when Reagan took office," Curtin added.

The sub-index of current conditions, reflecting Americans' perceptions of their financial situation and whether they consider it a good time to buy big-ticket items like cars, rose to 111.9 from 107.3 last month.

The sub-index gauging consumer expectations for six months from now, which more closely projects the direction of consumer spending, increased to 89.5 from 85.2 in November.

"The overall gain in confidence was based on anticipated policy changes," said Curtin, adding "such favorable expectations could help jump-start growth before the actual enactment of policy changes, and form higher performance standards that will be used to judge the Trump presidency." Enditem