Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Rises in March

Consumer Confidence unexpectedly rose in March, according to the latest data from the Conference Board.

• M-O-M: The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased slightly in March to 104.2, up from 103.4 in February.

• Y-O-Y: Consumer confidence is down 3.4 points from the same time last year.

Beat The Street. Economists were expecting confidence to fall to 101.

Future Is Bright. Consumers are feeling better about the future economy as the expectations index increased 2.6 points to 73 in March. The present situation index actually fell 1.9 points to 151.1.

Analysis. Ataman Ozyildirim, economist at The Conference Board, said the index improved slightly but rate-sensitive products continue to drag. “Driven by an uptick in expectations, consumer confidence improved somewhat in March, but remains below the average level seen in 2022 (104.5)…Overall purchasing plans for appliances continued to soften while automobile purchases saw a slight increase.”