US: UoM Consumer Sentiment Index improves to 84.9 (final) in March vs. 83.6 expected

• Consumer confidence in the US rose to its best level in a year.
• US Dollar Index posts small daily losses below 92.80 after the data.

The Consumer Sentiment Index in the US improved sharply to 84.9 (final) in March from 76.8 in February, the University of Michigan's latest Surveys of Consumers showed on Friday. This reading came in better than the flash estimate of 83 and beat the market expectation of 83.6.

Further details of the publication revealed that the Current Economic Conditions Index rose to 93 from 86.2 and the Consumer Expectations Index climbed to 79.7 from 70.7. Finally, the 1-year Inflation Outlook declined to 3.1% from 3.3%.

Commenting on the data, "consumer sentiment continued to rise in late March, reaching its highest level in a year due to the third disbursement of relief checks and better than anticipated vaccination progress," noted Surveys of Consumers chief economist, Richard Curtin. "As prospects for obtaining vaccination have grown, so too has people's impatience with isolation, as those concerns were voiced by nearly one-third of consumers in March, the highest level in the past year."

Market reaction

The greenback failed to capitalize on this upbeat report and the US Dollar Index was last seen losing 0.1% on the day at 92.76.