{"id":43878,"date":"2026-03-31T20:45:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T20:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/uncategorized\/43878\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T20:45:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T20:45:21","slug":"in-march-us-consumer-sentiment-improved-slightly-as-conference-board-confidence-rose-to-91-8-from-91","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/live-updates\/43878\/","title":{"rendered":"In March, US consumer sentiment improved slightly, as Conference Board confidence rose to 91.8 from 91"},"content":{"rendered":"US consumer sentiment rose slightly in March, as the Conference Board\u2019s Consumer Confidence Index increased to 91.8 from 91 in February (revised from 91.2).\n\nThe Expectations Index, which tracks consumers\u2019 short-term outlook for income, business and labour market conditions, fell by 1.7 points to 70.9. The survey also pointed to higher inflation expectations linked to rising costs from tariff pass-through and higher oil prices.\n\n<h3>Market Signals From Consumer Expectations<\/h3>\n\nThe US Dollar Index (DXY) stayed in the lower half of its daily range and was last down 0.4% at 100.08.\n\nThe drop in the consumer Expectations Index to 70.9 is a significant red flag, as it points to weakening confidence in future economic conditions. This forward-looking pessimism often precedes a slowdown in consumer spending, which could pressure corporate earnings. We should consider defensive positions, such as buying puts on the S&#038;P 500, to hedge against a potential market pullback in April and May.\n\nThe persistent concern over inflation, driven by tariffs and spiking oil prices, is likely to fuel market volatility. We saw similar conditions in late 2025 when rising energy costs caused the VIX to climb above 22 for several weeks. Traders could position for a repeat by purchasing VIX call options, anticipating increased market choppiness as this consumer anxiety plays out.\n\n<h3>Portfolio Positioning And Risk Hedges<\/h3>\n\nWith WTI crude oil recently breaking above $95 a barrel for the first time this year, energy-driven inflation is a primary concern. This directly supports the idea that cost pressures will continue, impacting everything from shipping to manufacturing. We see continued upside in oil, making long positions in crude futures or calls on energy sector ETFs an effective hedge against this trend.\n\nThe US Dollar\u2019s decline to 100.08 suggests the market interprets this weak consumer data as a reason for the Federal Reserve to remain on hold. With the last inflation report showing core CPI still stubbornly high at 3.7%, the Fed is in a difficult position, making a rate hike unlikely. This environment supports shorting the dollar against other major currencies or buying puts on dollar-tracking ETFs.\n\nThis dynamic feels very similar to the sentiment we observed in mid-2024 before the market entered a period of consolidation. Back then, weak expectations also preceded a notable rotation out of consumer discretionary stocks and into staples. We should therefore be cautious about exposure to retail and travel sectors, as they are most vulnerable when consumers worry about their future income.\n\n<b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/trade-now\/\">Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.vtmarkets.com\/login\">start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b>\n<p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Start trading now &#8211; Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/trade-now\/\">here<\/a> to create your real VT Markets account <\/strong> <\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:post-content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US consumer confidence edged up in March, but expectations fell; inflation fears weighed as dollar softened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"josephine","author_link":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/author\/josephine\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43878\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarketsglobal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}