Forexpros – Consumer confidence in the U.S. declined unexpectedly in March, deteriorating for the first time in seven months, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, Investor’s Business Daily and TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence said their IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index fell by 1.9 points to 47.5 in March from February’s reading of 49.4.
Economists had expected the index to rise by 1.9 points to 51.3 in March.
A reading above 50.0 indicates optimism, while those below 50.0 point to pessimism.
The index is 4.7 points above its 12-month average of 42.8 and 3.1 points above its reading of 44.4 in December 2007 when the economy entered into the recession.
The index remains 2.4 points below its all-time average of 49.9.
“After six consecutive months of improvement, consumer confidence retreated due to concerns about gasoline prices and persisting high unemployment,” said Raghavan Mayur, president of TIPP.
He added that, “The recent job report does not adequately reflect the dark side of the job situation in the country.”
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar remained higher against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.65% to trade at 1.3071.
Meanwhile, U.S. equity markets were broadly higher after the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.35%, the S&P 500 index added 0.45%, while the Nasdaq Composite index advanced 0.5%.
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