Consumer confidence plunges in March

By EILEEN ALT POWELL
AP Business Writer
Tue Mar 25, 1:53 PM ET



American consumers are gloomier about the economy that at any point since just before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, as slumping housing prices and soaring fuel costs depress consumer confidence to its lowest level in five years.

The Conference Board, a business-backed research group, said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index plunged to 64.5 in March from a revised 76.4 in February.

The March reading was far below the 73.0 expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson/IFR and was the worst reading since the gauge registered 61.4 in March 2003, just ahead of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Weakening consumer confidence foreshadows weakening consumer spending, which could hurt the already faltering economy.

Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday indicated that U.S. home prices fell 11.4 percent in January, the steepest drop since data for the indicator was first collected in 1987. The latest decline means prices have been growing more slowly or dropping for 19 consecutive months ... Read the Entire Article