Economic Expectations of U.S. Consumers Resumed Decline in March

Mar 21 2019, 1:45 PMMar 21 2019, 2:44 PMMarch 21 2019, 1:45 PMMarch 21 2019, 2:44 PM

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumer expectations for the economy dimmed for a fourth time in five months, signaling an uneven start to the year even as a weekly comfort measure remained elevated.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort’s monthly gauge of economic expectations fell to 47.5 from 54.5 as more respondents said the economy is getting worse, the survey released Thursday showed. Meanwhile, the weekly comfort measure edged up and remains near a recent 18-year high.

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The weekly survey showed improvement across all three main components: the state of the economy, personal finances and the buying climate. The finance gauge matched the 18-year high of 67.9 that it reached two weeks ago.
The gauge for respondents with incomes under $15,000 rose to a record in data going back to 1990, while measures for the unemployed and those ages 18-34 were the highest since 2000.