US Consumer Confidence Jumps In March To 82.3

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, jumped in March to 82.3, up from 78.3 in February, the board announced Tuesday.

Economists surveryed by Bloomberg News had expected the March index to rise to 78.4

Meanwhile, the Present Situation Index edged down to 80.4 from 81.0, while the Expectations Index increased to 83.5 from 76.5.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was March 14.

“Consumer confidence improved in March, as expectations for the short-term outlook bounced back from February’s decline,” Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, said, in a statement. “While consumers were moderately more upbeat about future job prospects and the overall economy, they were less optimistic about income growth. The Present Situation index, which had been on an upward trend for the past four months, was relatively unchanged in March. Overall, consumers expect the economy to continue improving and believe it may even pick up a little steam in the months ahead.”