The Conference Board Reports its Consumer Confidence Index® Improved in March

The Conference Board, a non-partisan, not-for-profit think tank founded in 1916, released today (3-29-22) their Consumer Confidence Index® (CCI) for March 2022. The CCI increased slightly in March, after declining in both February and January. The Index now stands at 107.2 (1985=100), up from 105.7 in February.

The Present Situation Index—based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions—improved to 153.0 from 143.0 last month. The Expectations Index—based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions—declined to 76.6 from 80.8 in February.

In remarks prepared for the release of this month’s CCI, Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board said:

“The Present Situation Index rose substantially, suggesting economic growth continued into late Q1. Expectations, on the other hand, weakened further with consumers citing rising prices, especially at the gas pump, and the war in Ukraine as factors. Meanwhile, purchasing intentions for big-ticket items like automobiles have softened somewhat over the past few months as expectations for interest rates have risen.”

“Nevertheless, consumer confidence continues to be supported by strong employment growth and thus has been holding up remarkably well despite geopolitical uncertainties and expectations for inflation over the next 12 months reaching 7.9 percent—an all-time high. However, these headwinds are expected to persist in the short term and may potentially dampen confidence as well as cool spending further in the months ahead.”