Consumer confidence in December beat expectations as more Americans became optimistic about the current state of the economy and job market, an article in Bloomberg reported.

According to the article, the Conference Board’s sentiment index increased to 96.5 from a revised November reading of 92.6.

From Bloomberg:

“Some of the primary things boosting confidence are strong labor market conditions and perhaps more importantly, low gasoline prices,” said Thomas Simons, a money-market economist at Jefferies Group LLC in New York. “On the margin, it should increase consumers’ propensity to spend.”