Consumer confidence in the US improved sharply in March with the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index rising to 109.7 from 90.4 in February. This reading beat the market expectation of 96.9 by a wide margin.
Further details of the publication showed that the Present Situation Index jumped to 110 from 89.6 and the Consumer Expectations Index climbed to 109.7 from 90.4. Finally, the One-year Consumer Inflation Rate Expectations edged higher to 6.7% from 6.5%.