Consumer confidence in the UK has improved during the holiday season.

Consumer confidence in the UK rose slightly in December. After the British government clarified the outlook for fiscal policy in the autumn budget, pessimism among British households eased. According to the consumer confidence index jointly released last Friday by market research firm GfK and the Nuremberg Market Decision Research Institute, the index for the month increased by 2 points to -17. This confidence survey, based on about 2000 consumers, exceeded the consensus of economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. Previously, economists had generally expected the index to rise more modestly, only reaching -18.