Consumer Confidence Rises to One-Year High

Consumer confidence rose in March, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Friday.

The final index for March rose to a reading of 76.2, the highest in more than a year, from 75.3 in February. That was more than a preliminary reading of 74.3 two weeks ago.

The reading surpassed economists’ median forecast of a 74.5 reading, Bloomberg reported.

The index averaged a reading of 89 in the five years leading up to the recession at the end of 2007.