No McDonald's $1 breakfast menu decision yet - exec

By Brad Dorfman and Lisa Baertlein

CHICAGO/PALM SPRINGS, Calif.(Reuters) - McDonald's Corp is considering rolling out a breakfast "Dollar Menu" nationally, but a final decision has not been made, U.S. president Don Thompson told investors on Thursday.

McDonald's restaurants in Chicago and other markets have been offering breakfast items for $1 each as rising U.S.

unemployment means fewer people are stopping in for a morning meal on their way to work.

A plan to offer the low-price breakfast menu nationwide during the first six months of 2010 has cleared early hurdles. Executives said they continue to explore it as an option as they also boost their emphasis on "everyday value."

In Chicago, participating restaurants have offered six $1 items: two hot cakes, a fruit 'n yogurt parfait, a sausage biscuit, a sausage McMuffin, two hash browns or medium coffee.

Chief Executive Jim Skinner recently said high unemployment has had "some impact" on the breakfast business at McDonald's, which accounts for about a quarter of U.S. sales.

McDonald's helped pioneer the use of "value menus" at fast-food chains and has used its own Dollar Menu to draw cash-strapped diners amid the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Falling prices for meat, cheese and other key foods have made it easier for restaurant chains to protect profits while attempting to lure customers with discounts. But discounting has become rampant, threatening industry margins.