Barclays economist Pooja Sriram.......>

US DATA REACT: Barclays economist Pooja Sriram said the US University of

Michigan consumer sentiment "edged lower, to 96.8 from 98.5, in the preliminary

estimate for December, below our and consensus expectations (Barclays: 98.5;

consensus: 99.0). The miss relative to our forecast was driven by a

lower-than-expected reading on the expectations index, which fell by 4.3 points,

to 84.6. On the other hand, current conditions improved to 115.9 (+2.4 points)."

- The economist adds "the 1-year and long-term inflation expectations indices

increased to 2.8% and 2.5% respectively. Overall, despite the moderation, the

index remains comfortably above its average in this recovery cycle and continues

to signal strong consumer sentiment that is likely to be supportive of GDP

growth in the coming months."