After a mixed picture in February (expectations down, current conditions up), analysts expected a big jump in Conference Board Consumer Confidence in March… and they got it.
March Consumer Confidence exploded from 90.4 (revised lower) in Feb to 109.7 in March – the highest since March 2020.
The underlying components also smashed expectations:
- Present situation confidence rose to 110.0 vs. 89.6 last month.
- Consumer confidence expectations rose to 109.6 vs. 90.9 last month – highest since July 2019
Source: Bloomberg
Still, putting these levels in context, they remain dramatically below the pre-COVID levels of confidence…
Source: Bloomberg
Maybe with just a few more trillion dollars of helicopter cash and Main Street confidence will catch up?
Easy Money 