U.S. Consumer Sentiment Unexpectedly Drops To Five-Month Low In March

U.S. Consumer Sentiment Unexpectedly Drops To Five-Month Low In March

Consumer sentiment in the U.S. has unexpectedly fallen to a five-month low in the month of March, the University of Michigan revealed in a report on Friday.

The report said the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for March came in at 90.0 compared to the final February reading of 91.7. The drop surprised economists, who had expected the index to inch up to a reading of 92.2.

With the unexpected decrease, the consumer sentiment index fell to its lowest level since a matching reading last October.

Richard Curtin, the survey's chief economist, said, "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."

"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.

The report said the current economic conditions index edged down to 105.6 in March from 106.8 in February, while the index consumer expectations dipped to 80.0 from 81.9.

On the inflation front, one-year and five-year inflation expectations both climbed to 2.7 percent in March from 2.5 percent in February.

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