French consumer confidence at nine-year high in December - INSEE

PARIS (Reuters) - French consumer confidence for December stood at a nine-year high, the official INSEE statistics agency said, as unemployment fears receded slightly while households also felt more confident about their personal finances.

The December reading for consumer confidence came in at 99 points - stable compared to a revised 99 points for November, up from 98 previously. The two new readings were the highest since October 2007, INSEE said on Wednesday.

The index, which is not closely correlated to consumer spending trends, hit an all-time low in May and June 2013 at 79. The highest level since the survey was conducted on a monthly basis was 125 in January 2001.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Callus)