Mubasher: Preliminary estimates released by the University of Michigan indicated that the US consumer confidence remained unchanged in early December.

The consumer sentiment index stabilised at 97.5 points in early December, from October, a survey report by Michigan University said on Friday.

“As noted in last month's report, as long as job and income growth remain strong, rising prices and interest rates will not cause substantial cutbacks in spending,” survey senior economist Richard Curtin said.

“In the early December survey, however, consumers did mention hearing much more negative news about future job prospects,” Curtin added.

The steady reading came as consumers’ assessment of the current conditions improved, and expectations dropped.

The index for current economic conditions climbed 2.6% to 115.2 points month-on-month in December, rising 1.2% from the reading for the same month last year.

Moreover, the expectation index fell 2.3% to 86.1 points in early December from previous month, but it rose 2.1% year-on-year.

By 3:09 pm GMT, the US dollar index went down 0.9% to 96.7370.