March US Consumer Confidence Rises Unexpectedly

10:25 AM EDT, 03/31/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence rose to 91.8 in March from 91.0 in February, above a reading of 87.9 expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:40 am ET.

The present situation reading increased to 123.3 from 118.7, while the expectations reading decreased to 70.9 from 72.6.

The current assessment of business conditions improved in March, while it was virtually unchanged for employment.

"Consumer confidence ticked up again in March, as a modest improvement in consumers' views of current conditions outweighed a slight downshift in expectations for the future," said Dana Peterson, Chief Economist at The Conference Board. "Three of five components of the Index firmed in March, and overall confidence improved modestly for a second month. Nonetheless, the Index has been on a general downward trend since 2021.

The survey for preliminary results was conducted from March 1 to March 24, 2026.

"While not obvious in the headline or its component indexes, the weight of rising costs due to tariff passthrough and spiking oil prices was evident among other measures in the survey like inflation expectations," the report said.

The monthly consumer confidence index from the Conference Board measures consumer sentiment in the current month, with the headline index a combination of the present situation and expectations for the near future. The report also includes the current and future assessments for business and employment conditions.

An increase in the reading suggests consumers are more confident, a positive for stocks if that confidence translates into spending. Increased demand is usually inflationary, a negative for bonds.

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