U.S. consumer confidence fell unexpectedly, to the lowest level in five months, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan index. Bloomber reports:
The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment dropped to 69.5 from a reading of 73.6 in March. The gauge was projected to rise to 75, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 69 economists.
Lagging confidence may restrain household spending, the biggest part of the economy, even as recent figures showed a pickup in retail sales in March. Consumers in the survey anticipated financial conditions will worsen, partly due to the new health care legislation, and said the recovery may be too slow to bring about bigger declines in the jobless rate.
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When asked to evaluate government economic policies, 45 percent of the survey respondents rated them unfavorably, up from 40 percent last month. Thirty-eight percent thought the new health care law would weaken their personal finances, compared with 8 percent who said it would improve them.
The gauge of current conditions, which reflects Americans' perceptions of their financial situation and whether it is a good time to buy big-ticket items like cars, dropped to 80.7, the lowest level this year, from 82.4.
Consumers who were surveyed are worried about rising inflation, a soft job market and the impact of the new healthcare legislation. There is a lot of uncertainty about how the new healthcare law will affect every day Americans' pocketbooks.
