Consumer sentiment dipped in March to its lowest level since October as falling stock markets weighed on consumers, according to the final reading of a gauge released Friday.
The University of Michigan said its final measure of consumer confidence for March dropped to 92.6 from 94.1 in February, media reports said. The preliminary reading, reported earlier this month, was 92.9.
Analysts had forecast the final March reading at 92.7. It was the third straight monthly decline for the index.
The survey's expectations component eased to 82.8 from 84.4 in February, while sentiment on current conditions fell to 108.0 from 109.2.
Sentiment among U.S. consumers is closely watched by economists because consumer spending drives two-thirds of economic activity.
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index is released privately to subscribers, but the numbers are widely reported by wire services and other media outlets.
All of the U.S. indexes lost ground in March. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.4 per cent, the broad-based S&P 500 slumped 1.9 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite index shed 2.6 per cent.
Soaring crude and gasoline prices, as well as concerns about the health of the U.S. jobs market, are likely some of the other factors that hurt sentiment in the most recent report.
Earlier on Friday, the latest U.S. jobs report showed that the economy added a fewer-than-expected 110,000 jobs in March.
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