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Consumer Confidence Continues To Climb In Florida

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GAINESVILLE (CBSMiami/AP) — Gift giving must have done wonders for the morale of Florida's consumer. A new survey revealed buyer's confidence in the Sunshine State keeps climbing as the state's economy continues to recover.

The monthly University of Florida survey released Tuesday shows consumer confidence was 87.4 in the month of December. That's on a scale of 2 to 150 benchmarked to 1966 at a value of 100.

That's a jump from November and the highest it has been since February 2007.

Chris McCarty, director of the UF center that does the survey, said the rise in confidence was expected due to the ongoing recovery and a drop in gas prices.

He said the drop in gas prices represents "enormous savings" for many Floridians.

McCarty also said there are signs that consumer optimism should continue into 2015 although that could change if the Federal Reserve raises interest rates.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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