US consumer confidence weakens further in March, Conference Board says
Consumer spirits in the US weakened further in March, as volatility in financial markets and soft readings on the jobs market dented Americans' assessment of the economy and of hiring conditions.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell from a reading of 131.4 for February to 124.1 in March, falling short of forecasts for a reading of 132.0.
"Confidence has been somewhat volatile over the past few months, as consumers have had to weather volatility in the financial markets, a partial government shutdown and a very weak February jobs report," said Conference Board's senior director of economic indicators, Lynn Franco.
"Despite these dynamics, consumers remain confident that the economy will continue expanding in the near term. However, the overall trend in confidence has been softening since last summer, pointing to a moderation in economic growth."
A sub-index tracking assessments of current conditions was especially weak, falling from 172.8 to 160.6, while another linked to expectations slipped from 103.8 to 99.8.
Weighing on the former, the proportion of consumers judging that business conditions were "good" fell from 40.6% to 33.4%.
Conditions in the jobs market were also said to have worsened, with the share of those who said that jobs were "plentiful" decreasing from 45.7% to 42.0%.