Americans experienced a surprise drop in new home sales, which damped optimism about the economic recovery.
The Commerce Department said new home sales posted the biggest decline since April. Sales fell 11% last month to an annual rate of 355,000 units from a downwardly revised 400,000 units in October.
Economists had expected the rate to rise to 438,000, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com.
The dour housing figures came after a government report showed personal income posted its largest gain in half a year during November, while spending by individuals rose for a second straight month.
The Commerce Department said income climbed by 0.4%, or $49.7 billion, in November, after an upwardly revised 0.3% rise in October. That was the biggest gain since May, when it rose 1.5%. The figure was still below a consensus estimate of a 0.5% rise collected by Briefing.com.
Elsewhere economically, spending by individuals rose 0.5% last month, or $47.9 billion U.S., below analysts' expectations of a 0.7% hike. Personal spending was up 0.6% in October.
Separately, the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said the final December reading on the index of consumer sentiment was 72.5, the highest since September. That was up from 67.4 in November and 60.1 a year ago.
