US consumer confidence slips amid as accelerating inflation hits finances, economic outlook

Consumer confidence in the US continued to slip lower in March as concern about mounting inflation dragged on American's outlook for their own finances and the wider national economy.

The University of Michigan's consumer confidence index fell from 62.8 at the end of February to 59.4 (consensus: 59.7).

A sub-index for expectations dropped by the most, from 59.4 to 54.3, while that linked to evaluations of the current situation dipped from 68.2 to 67.2.

According to the survey compiler, more consumers mentioned the hit to their living standards from faster inflation than at any time outside the two worst economic recession of the last 50 years.

Those were the downturns from March 1979 to April 1981 and from May to October 2008.

-- More to follow --