U.S : Consumer-sentiment gauge lowest in four months

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)
A gauge of consumer sentiment declined in March to hit the lowest level in four months, cut by weaker expectations for the economy                                        
The gauge from the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters fell to 79.9 this month from a final February level of 81.6, data show
Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a March reading of 80.8
Economists watch sentiment levels to get a feeling for the direction of consumer spending. Earlier this week, the government reported that retail sales rose in February, the first increase in three months.
Opposing forces are working on consumers
The government’s most recent report on jobs showed solid employment growth.
But rising gas prices and concern over action in Ukraine may be making consumers gloomier, economists said before the data’s release.
“We believe that geopolitical concerns continued to weigh on consumer outlooks during the survey period,” said Gennadiy Goldberg of TD Securities
The data shows that the fall in confidence was largely centered in the future expectations component of the survey, which declined to 69.4 from 72.7as current conditions improved modestly to 96.1 from 95.4   
“We believe this underscores the potential for the index to rebound substantially once Crimean worries begin to fade and better economic data begins to bolster confidence in the outlook,” he said