Updated: 25-Mar-25 10:36 ET

March Consumer Confidence

Updated: 25-Mar-25 10:36 ET

Highlights

• The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 92.9 in March (Briefing.com consensus 94.2) from an upwardly revised 100.1 (from 98.3) in February.
• This was fourth straight month that consumer confidence declined.

Key Factors

• The Present Situation Index fell to 134.5 from 138.1 in February.
• The Expectations Index slumped to 65.2 from 74.8 in February. This index sits at its lowest level in 12 years and below the threshold of 80 that usually signals a recession ahead.
• Average 12-month inflation expectations jumped to 6.2% from 5.8% in February.

Big Picture

• The key takeaway from the report is that the drop in confidence was guided primarily by the decline in consumers' outlook, which was driven by worries about inflation and future employment prospects, the latter of which hit a 12-year low. This can be a combination for a pullback in discretionary spending.

Category	MAR	FEB	JAN	DEC	NOV
Conference Board	92.9	100.1	105.3	109.5	112.8
Expectations	65.2	74.8	82.2	86.5	93.7
Present Situation	134.5	138.1	139.9	144.0	141.4
Employment ('plentiful' less 'hard to get')	17.9	17.6	19.4	22.2	18.4
1 yr inflation expectations	6.2%	5.8%	5.2%	5.1%	5.0%