The Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to a reading of 52.9 in December (1985=100) from 50.6 in November.

"Consumer confidence posted yet another moderate gain in December as expectations for the short-term future increased to the highest level in two years," Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's consumer research center, said.

Consumers anticipating business conditions will improve over the next six months rose to 21.3% in December from 19.7% in November.

Consumers saying jobs are "hard to get" fell to 48.6% in December from 49.2% in November. However, those claiming jobs are "plentiful" fell to 2.9% from 3.1%.

The index is based on a survey of 5,000 U.S. households.