U.S. Consumer Confidence Tumbles More Than Expected In March

(RTTNews) - Consumer confidence in the U.S. deteriorated by more than expected in the month of March, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index tumbled to 92.9 in March from an upwardly revised 100.1 in February.

Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to slump to 94.2 from the 98.3 originally reported for the previous month.

"Consumer confidence declined for a fourth consecutive month in March, falling below the relatively narrow range that had prevailed since 2022," said Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board.

The steep drop by the headline index partly reflected a significant deterioration by consumer expectations, as the expectations index plunged to 65.2 in March from 74.8 in February.

The Conference Board noted the expectations index dove to its lowest level in 12 years and fell well below the threshold of 80 that usually signals a recession ahead.

The present situation index, which is based on consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions, showed a more modest decrease, sliding to 134.5 in March from 138.1 in February.

"Consumers' expectations were especially gloomy, with pessimism about future business conditions deepening and confidence about future employment prospects falling to a 12-year low," said Guichard.

She added, "Meanwhile, consumers' optimism about future income—which had held up quite strongly in the past few months—largely vanished, suggesting worries about the economy and labor market have started to spread into consumers' assessments of their personal situations."

On Friday, the University of Michigan is scheduled to release its revised reading on consumer sentiment in the month of March.

The consumer sentiment index is expected to be unrevised from the preliminary reading of 57.9, which was down from 64.7 in February and marked its lowest level since November 2022.