Consumer sentiment in US lifts - survey

US consumers' mood brightened slightly late December but still soured for the month as a whole, a report showed today.

The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers index of confidence edged up to 75.5 in late December from a mid-December reading of 74.5, slightly above economists' forecast but down from November's reading of 76.1.

The US economy has been plagued by a housing crisis that spread to mortgage-linked financial assets and crippled the credit system, threatening growth.

The survey's index of current economic conditions slipped to 91 at the end of December - the lowest since March 2003 - from 92.1 in early December and from 91.5 in November.

The reading of consumer expectations rose to 65.6 at the end of December from a mid-December reading of 63.2 and a November reading of 66.2.

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