INSTANT VIEW: March consumer confidence slips

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Conference Board said its index of consumer sentiment slipped to 107.2 in March from a downwardly revised 111.2 in February. The median forecast of economists polled by Reuters was 108.5. February's reading was originally reported at 112.5.

KEY POINTS: - Conference Board's one-year U.S. consumer inflation expectations in March highest since October 2006.

COMMENTARY:

DOMINIC KONSTAM, HEAD OF INTEREST-RATE STRATEGY, CREDIT SUISSE,

NEW YORK:

"It's obviously weak. It's bad. The gasoline price is a big concern. In jobs hard to get there was also another jump so we would say it is very constructive for the market in terms of interest rates continuing their march lower. I think there is maybe a little bit of a delayed reaction."

KEVIN FLANAGAN, FIXED INCOME STRATEGIST FOR GLOBAL WEALTH

MANAGEMENT, MORGAN STANLEY, PURCHASE, NEW YORK:

"You had an initial reaction to the upside, due to the fact that the overall figure was a bit less than anticipated, but Treasuries have given up those immediate (price) gains as technical considerations take hold and investors reevaluate what the Fed said last week. Also we are less than 24 hours away from an appearance by Chairman Bernanke which may lend us more clarity."

MICHAEL DARDA, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MKM PARTNERS LLC, GREENWICH,

CONNECTICUT:

"It's still a pretty decent level for confidence. We're well above the historical average. It's not surprising given the fears, or one could say hysteria, around the subprime, the short-term weakness in equities, and the rise in gas prices, this isn't a huge surprise. The revision wasn't material enough to matter. It looks like we got a bigger dip in the consumer expectations index, which is a more important one to watch. We're still at levels higher than we were in early 2006. I think the consumer expectations should start to move up as we move past these fears. It always seems to have a short-term influence on equities, but I don't think it will have a longer-term one."

GARY THAYER, CHIEF ECONOMIST, A.G. EDWARDS AND SONS, ST. LOUIS,

MISSOURI:

"Consumer confidence was a little softer than expected in March. It shows that consumers are a little concerned about the future. The expectations component declined more than the present situation index, which rose slightly. People are a little concerned about the housing market, but right now conditions aren't that bad. It suggests that we'll probably see some cautious spending by consumers. But the percentage of people who think that the job situation is good actually went up so that's a real support for the economy."

MARK VITNER, SENIOR ECONOMIST, WACHOVIA SECURITIES, CHARLOTTE,