The Conference
Board (CB) announced on Tuesday its U.S. consumer confidence index declined 7.2
points to 92.9 in March from an upwardly revised 100.1 (from 98.3) in February.
Economists had predicted
the consumer confidence index to drop to 94.0.
The survey's
details revealed that the present situation index (-3.6 points to 134.5 this
month) and the expectations index (-9.6 points to 65.2) both fell this month,
with the latter dropping to the lowest level in 12 years and well below the
threshold of 80 that usually signals a recession ahead.
Commenting on
the findings of the last survey, Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist, Global
Indicators at The Conference Board, noted that March’s tumble in consumer
confidence brought it below the relatively narrow range that had prevailed
since 2022. “Consumers' expectations were especially gloomy, with pessimism
about future business conditions deepening and confidence about future
employment prospects falling to a 12-year low,” 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.”
Guichard also noted
that consumers turned negative about the stock market for the first time since
the end of 2023, likely in response to recent market volatility. “In March,
only 37.4% expected stock prices to rise over the year ahead - down nearly 10
percentage points from February and 20 percentage points from the high reached
in November 2024,” she said. “On the flip side, 44.5% expected stock prices to
decline (up 11 ppts from February and over 22 ppts more than November 2024).”