Consumer seem more confident than expected: the CB figure advances to 96.2 points. In addition, the previous figure was revised to the upside: 94 instead of 92.2 originally reported. Does this imply more spending? We’ll know that only when the retail sales report comes out.
The US dollar hardly reacts as a bigger event looms.
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence measure was expected to rise from 92.2 to 94 points for the month of March.
Earlier, the Case Shiller House Price Index showed an annual rise of 5.7%, exactly as expected. There was a small downwards revision for the previous month: from 5.7% to 5.6%.
The next big event is a speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen. She may or may not clarify where the Fed stands on the next monetary policy moves. The FOMC statement was quite dovish, but her colleagues that spoke after than March 16th meeting were already much more hawkish.