How Did Consumers Feel About the Economy in March?

Unexpectedly better in March.

Banks imploding, inflation lingering and rates rising. You’d expect consumers to be feeling down.

That’s not what the latest consumer confidence survey showed (taken two weeks after the regional banks collapsed).

March’s Consumer Confidence Index reading came in at 104.2 — up from 103.4 in February.

Here’s how consumer habits are changing:

• Spending less on discretionary items like the movies, dining out, amusement parks and the lottery.
• Spending more on health care, home, auto maintenance and economical entertainment like streaming.

According to LPL Financial’s chief economist (Reuters), “the availability of jobs and low unemployment more than offset the negative impact from recent banking crises.”