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U.S. consumer confidence rebounds in March

Xinhua, March 31, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. consumer confidence rebounded in March, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday.

U.S. Consumer Confidence Index stood at 101.3 in March, up from 98.8 in February. The Expectations Index increased from 90.0 last month to 96.0 in March. The Present Situation Index, however, decreased from 112.1 in February to 109.1.

Consumer confidence improved in March after retreating in February. This month's increase was driven by an improved short-term outlook for both employment and income prospects: consumers were less upbeat about business conditions, said Lynn Franco, director of Economic Indicators at the Conference Board.

She added that consumers' assessment of current conditions declined for the second consecutive month, suggesting that growth may have softened in the first quarter and doesn't appear to be gaining any significant momentum heading into the spring months.

Consumers' optimism about the short-term outlook, which had declined last month, rebounded in March. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months decreased slightly, from 17.6 percent to 16.7 percent. However, those expecting business conditions to worsen also fell, from 8.9 percent to 8.0 percent.

Consumers' outlook for the labor market saw stronger gains. Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead increased from 13.8 percent to 15.5 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs declined from 14.8 percent to 13.5 percent.

The proportion of consumers expecting growth in their incomes improved from 16.4 percent to 18.4 percent, while the proportion expecting a drop declined from 10.8 percent to 9.9 percent.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was March 19. Endi