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U.S. consumer sentiment falls in early March

Xinhua, March 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. consumer sentiment fell in early March as the confidence of lower and middle income households slid, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment revealed on Friday.

The preliminary reading of the consumer sentiment in March, which records the figure for the first half of a month, edged down to 91.2 from 95.4 in February.

"Consumer optimism slipped in early March among lower and middle income households while confidence improved among households with income in the top third," survey director Richard Curtin said in a statement.

"The renewed concerns expressed by lower and middle income households mainly involved income declines and higher utility costs as well as disruptions to shopping and businesses due to the harsh winter," said Curtin.

The sub-index of current conditions, reflecting Americans' perceptions of their financial situation and whether they consider it a good time to buy big-ticket items like cars, fell to 103 from 106.9 last month

The sub-index gauging consumer expectations for six months from now, which more closely projects the direction of consumer spending, decreased to 83.7 from 88 in February.

"Despite the small temporary setbacks, the overall level of consumer confidence remains favorable enough to support 3.3 percent growth rate in personal consumption expenditures during 2015," said Curtin. Endi