Consumer confidence off in March

NEW YORK — Consumer confidence, hurt by consumers’ worries about jobs, fell in March for the second consecutive month, a private research group said Tuesday.

The consumer confidence index dropped 2.0 points to 102.4, down from a revised 104.4 in February, according to The Conference Board. Analysts had expected a reading of 103. The index had fallen by a revised 0.7 point in February.

The March figure was the lowest since November, when the reading was 92.6.

Nevertheless, despite the two declines, Lynn Franco, director of the New York-based Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center, said that consumers still remain resilient.

“Consumers are still quite confident despite recent increases in unemployment claims and rising prices at the gas pump, ” Franco said in a statement. “Their overall assessment of current economic conditions remains favorable and their short-term outlook suggests little change in the months ahead.”

She added, “In fact, while expectations have lost ground, consumers anticipate the job market will continue to improve, and easing employment concerns should help keep spending on track.”

Franco noted that the recent spike in gasoline prices has not had an impact on confidence — not yet. She said that will depend on the duration and how high prices will go.

Economists closely track consumer confidence because consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of all U.S. economic activity.

The Expectations Index, one component of the confidence index that measures consumers’ outlook over the next six months, declined to 93.7 from 96.1 last month.