Consumer Confidence holds steady in March
|Summary
Consumer confidence essentially held steady in March. Household pessimism around future income growth is building despite an improved view of the current jobs market. If continued, income concerns signal a potential challenge for coming spending.
Expectations about the future hold back Confidence in March
Consumers' confidence more-or-less held steady in March once accounting for downward revisions to February's data. The overall Consumer Confidence Index fell to 104.7 from 104.8 in February (previously estimated at 106.7) (chart). The downward revision was due almost entirely to revisions to households expectations. That is, the Expectations Index was revised lower to 76.3 in February from a previously reported 79.8. After accounting for these revisions, households perceptions of their present situation improved in March (to 151.0) while they became less optimistic about the future (73.8), which shook out to about a wash in terms of overall confidence (chart).
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