Consumer Confidence Gains Steam in March

Source: The Conference Board

Consumer confidence picked up in March after two straight months of declines, in line with the growth in employment during the month. QQQ is up 0.88%.

• The Consumer Confidence Index grew to 107.2 in March, up from 105.7 in February, attributed to the improvement in employment.
• Business conditions improved as consumers assessing “good” business conditions climbed while those who assessed “bad” declined.
• The labor market assessment also posted growth, with a historical high of 57.2%, indicating that jobs were “plentiful.”
• The expectations for the next six months declined, with 18.7% of consumers expecting an improvement while 23.8% expect the conditions to worsen.
• The decline was due to inflationary concerns amid the continuous increase in gas prices and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.