Woes of the World Hitting Consumer Confidence

Consumer Confidence from the Conference Board just took a huge hit in the month of March.  Usually this would be cause for a huge concern because the drop is the largest for any single month in a year.  March was no normal month.

The reading fell in March to 63.4 from a revised level of 72.0 from February.  Bloomberg had estimates of 64.0 for March.  The drop may sound harsh, probably because it is harsh.  Fortunately there are some caveats and exceptions to the rule here.

What makes the levels not as bad as it could be is that the survey fully reflects the impact of the Japan-effect after the quake and tsunami and it fully reflects the turmoil being seen in north-Africa and in the Middle East. 

It seems that higher gas prices and higher food prices are also adding pressure, and it is worth noting that the Conference Board did note that there is a concern that this large of a drop will impact actual spending.

JON C. OGG