Consumers Cheer Up, Budget Deficit Swells By Ros Krasny CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. consumers' mood brightened in early December, which may bode well for retailers in the key holiday shopping season, a survey showed on Friday. But in other reports, wholesale prices rose unexpectedly, spurred by rising energy costs, while the United States ran up a larger than expected budget deficit in November. The University of Michigan's December consumer sentiment survey rose to 95.7, its highest since August. Wall Street had forecast the index, a closely-watched measure of consumer sentiment, at 93.5 against 92.8 in November. "It seems we have a healthy though not tremendous holiday shopping season ahead of us," said Steve Gallagher, economist at SG Cowen Securities. The current conditions index rose to 106.8 from 104.7 and the expectations index rose to 88.8 from 85.2. "The expectations index is now at a five-month high but has been largely trendless over the past year. Historically, its current level has been consistent with real consumers' spending growth of 3.5 percent to 4.0 percent," said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. Consumers were buoyed by falling gasoline prices, an improvement in the labor market and a brisk stock market rally. The scars of a divisive presidential election have also faded. "People have reacted to the fact oil prices have come down" and expect things to get better, said Jay Bryson, global economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina. None of Friday's reports had much impact on financial markets, which are focusing on Tuesday's meeting of the monetary policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee. The U.S. central bank is expected to raise overnight borrowing costs a quarter percentage point to 2.25 percent as it seeks to stay ahead of the inflation curve. U.S. equities prices rose marginally, Treasury yields were down a shade and the dollar gained slightly.     Continued ... Quelle "Consumers Cheer Up, Budget Deficit Swells" : reuters.com Main page for "Consumers Cheer Up, Budget Deficit Swells"