NEW YORK, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- U.S. consumers' moods during the holiday-spending season ebbed in December on concerns about jobs, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.
But expectations for the next six months improved, which "signals healthy economic growth in 2004," said Lynn Franco, an economist at the Conference Board.
The group's consumer-confidence index fell to 91.3, following a surge in November to a revised 92.5, the highest level in over a year. Economists had expected the index to come in at 91.5, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires.
The present-situation index, a gauge of consumers' assessment of current economic conditions, dropped sharply to 73.9 from a revised 81 the prior month.
"Job worries continue," Ms. Franco said. "While consumers expect the job situation to improve in the months ahead, until a significant turnaround takes place, consumers' optimism about current-day conditions will continue to lag behind their expectations."
