French consumer confidence stable in December, holds at 9-year high

French consumer confidence held at a nine-year high in December, the official INSEE statistics agency data showed on Wednesday. The December reading for French consumer confidence came in at 99 points, in line with expectations.

The reading for December was stable compared to a revised 99 points for November, up from 98 previously. Reading for the months of November and December were the highest since October 2007, INSEE said on Wednesday.

Receding unemployment fears and increased confidence among households about their personal finances boosted consumer confidence in December. Households' opinion of their personal financial situation in the past twelve months improved slightly in December, with the index rising to -22 from -24 in November. At the same, their outlook remained stable at -8. The unemployment index fell to 21 from 26.