The Conference
Board announced on Tuesday its U.S. consumer confidence index edged down 0.1
points to 104.7 in March from a downwardly revised 104.8 (from 106.7) in February. Economists had expected
the consumer confidence index to rise to 107.0.
The details of
the survey revealed that the March slip in the headline index reflected a decline in the expectations index (-2.5 points to
73.8 this month) that was offset by a jump in the present situation index (+3.4
points to 151.0).
Commenting on
the results of the last survey, Dana Peterson, Chief Economist at The
Conference Board, said that consumers' assessment of the present situation
improved in March, primarily driven by more positive views of the current employment
situation, while their expectations for the next six months slipped to the
lowest level since October 2023, reflecting a deteriorated outlook for future
business conditions, labour market conditions, and income expectations.
She also noted that consumers remained concerned with elevated price levels, which predominated write-in responses. "March's write-in responses showed an uptick in concerns about food and gas prices, but in general complaints about gas prices have been trending downward," she added.