A shopper organizes his cash before paying for merchandise at a Best Buy Co. store in Peoria, Illinois, U.S., on Friday, Nov. 23, 2012. (Photo: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty)
The closely-watched Surveys of Consumers consumer sentiment gauge from the University of Michigan fell to 90.0 in a preliminary March reading from a final February reading of 91.7. Economists expected the gauge to rise to 92.2.
“Consumer confidence eased in early March due to increased concerns about prospects for the economy as well as the expectation that gas prices would inch upward during the year ahead,” Surveys of Consumers chief economist, Richard Curtin said. “All of the decline during the past year has been in the Expectations Index, which was due to a weakening outlook for the pace of growth in the national economy.”
“While consumers do not anticipate a recession, they no longer expect the economy to outperform the 2.4% rate of economic growth recorded in the past two years,” he added. “In contrast, personal financial expectations remained strong in early March, comparable to the favorable levels recorded nearly a decade ago.”
Preliminary Consumer Sentiment for March 2016
| Mar | Feb | Mar | M-M | Y-Y | |
| 2016 | 2016 | 2015 | Change | Change | |
| Index of Consumer Sentiment | 90.0 | 91.7 | 93.0 | -1.9% | -3.2% |
| Current Economic Conditions | 105.6 | 106.8 | 105.0 | -1.1% | +0.6% |
| Index of Consumer Expectations | 80.0 | 81.9 | 85.3 | -2.3% | -6.2% |
