Upstate consumer sentiment declines in March

Upstate New York’s consumer sentiment decreased 4.1 points to 65.8 in March, according to the latest monthly survey from the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI) issued today.

Upstate’s overall-sentiment index of 65.8 is a combination of the current-sentiment and future-sentiment components. Upstate’s current-sentiment index of 71.6 is down 1.9 points from February, while the future-sentiment level fell 5.6 points to 62, according to the SRI data.

The Upstate figure was nearly nine points below the statewide consumer-sentiment level of 74.5, which was down 2.8 points from February, SRI said.

New York’s confidence-sentiment index was 4.1 points lower than the figure for the entire nation of 78.6, which was up one point from February, as measured by the University of Michigan’s consumer-sentiment index.

In SRI’s monthly analysis of gas and food prices, 74 percent of upstate respondents said the price of gas was having a serious impact on their monthly budgets, which is up from 70 percent in February and 64 percent in January.

In addition, 62 percent of statewide respondents indicated concern about the price of gas, up from 58 percent in February, according to SRI.

When asked about food prices, 71 percent of Upstate respondents indicated their grocery bill was having a serious impact on their finances, down from 72 percent in February. About 68 percent of statewide respondents indicated concern about their food bills, unchanged from February.

SRI conducted its consumer-sentiment survey in March by random telephone calls to 800 New York residents over the age of 18.

For more on this story, check out the April 5 issue of The Central New York Business Journal.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com