Florida consumers are feeling slightly better about the economy despite the news Collapse of the Silicon Valley Bankaccording to a study by the University of Florida (UF).
However, the report also warns that consumer sentiment is likely to remain relatively low going forward as interest rates are expected to continue rising.
Based on a 150-point index, consumer sentiment in March was 69.7 — two points up from February — according to the latest polling results from UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
The UF study surveyed 524 people Online and on the phone from February 1st to March 30th to gauge consumer thought.
“Given the chaos in the banking sector in mid-March, which saw the largest bank collapse since the 2008 financial crisis, the positive shift in consumer sentiment among Floridians in March comes as a surprise,” he said Hector Sandovalthe director of the economic analysis program at UF.
“Additionally, despite some speculation that the Federal Reserve would halt rate hikes in response to the recent spate of bank failures, Fed officials decided to hike rates further at their last meeting as inflation remains high and the job market still remains.” is tense.”
Respondents in Florida had “mixed” results about the current economy, according to UF poll results.
When asked about her personal finances, her sentiment on the index rose to 60.7 from 58.6 a year ago.
But when asked if this was a good time to buy an essential household item, consumer sentiment dipped slightly to 57.6 from 57.9, according to the UF survey.
“These views were distributed across socio-demographic groups, with women, those under 60 and those earning over $50,000 a year expressing more positive views,” the UF survey said.
The survey warns against expecting consumer sentiment to spike anytime soon.
“The latest data clearly shows that the labor market remains unusually tight. This, combined with persistently high inflation, strongly suggests that the Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates in the coming months,” Sandoval said.
“In the last 12 months, the Fed has hiked rates the most since the early 1980s. In addition, the recent turmoil in the banking sector may have hampered economic growth and increased the risk of a recession as financial institutions are likely to become more cautious about lending. As a result, we expect consumer sentiment in Florida to remain depressed for some time to come.”
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