US consumers more optimistic, says index

US consumers were feeling more optimistic in March than they were in February, according to researchers at the University of Michigan.

The final University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for March rose to 95.8 from 94.4 in February and 94.1 in early March, even though most economists had been expecting a dip in sentiment.

Both of the main key components of the index improved: the current conditions index rose to 106.8 points in late March from 103.6 in February and the expectations index rose to 88.8 points from 88.5.

However, in a separate report released today, the Commerce Department estimated that inflation-adjusted spending was unchanged in February, while consumer spending income growth slowed to 0.2%.

The increase was lower than expected as the previous month's consumer spending grew 0.5%.