In March, the University of Michigan’s final monthly US consumer confidence index fell to 62 points from 67 in February on a worsening assessment of current conditions (70.7 to 66.3 points) and of forecasts (from 64.7 to 59.2 points).
The Bloomberg consensus of economists indicated an expected value of 63.3 points, substantially in line with the preliminary estimate (63.4 points).
With regards to inflation, expectations for the current year fell further in late March, to their lowest levels in nearly two years, although consumers remain relatively pessimistic about the economic outlook.
Respondents expect prices to rise at an annual rate of 3.6%, down from 3.8% at the beginning of the month and 4.1% in February, while costs will rise over the next 5-10 years by 2.9% (unchanged estimate).