RPT-TABLE-Reuters/U Mich March prelim sentiment index 70.5

(Repeats to additional subscribers)

March 14 (Reuters) - The Reuters/University of Michigan
Surveys of Consumers' preliminary March consumer sentiment
index fell to 70.5 from February's final reading of 70.8,
according to a report released on Friday.

Economists in a Reuters survey expected a preliminary March
reading of 69.0.

Below is a table of the survey's components:

March-P Feb Jan Dec Nov
Sentiment 70.5 70.8 78.4 75.5 76.1
Current conditions 84.6 83.8 94.4 91.0 91.5
Expectations 61.4 62.4 68.1 65.6 66.2
1-year inflation 4.5 3.6 3.4 3.4 3.4
5-year inflation 2.9 3.0 3.0 3.1 2.9

THE SURVEY: The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of
Consumers, a monthly series of data on U.S. consumer sentiment,
are produced by the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor,
Michigan. Reuters has exclusive rights to distribute the data
for six months after the release.