The economic research institute Conference Board said Tuesday that its monthly index of consumer sentiment rose to 52.5 in March from an upwardly revised 46.4 in February, helped by a slight increase in optimism about the labor market.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a reading of 50.0 for March, though the projections were in a range between 45.7 and 59.0.
The gauge of expectations indicator rose to 70.2 from an upwardly revised to 62.9.
The index on the current situation rose to 26.0, its highest level since May 2009 and over 21.7 in February.
The consumer perception of the labor market also improved in March. The percentage of Americans who are "hard to get a job" fell to 45.8 percent from 47.3 percent, while the level of respondents who considered that there are "plenty of work" rose to 4.4 percent in March from 4.0 percent in February.
After learning this fact, stocks on Wall Street held its gains as Treasury bonds cut their losses. Meanwhile, the euro pared its decline slightly.
This would "add credibility to those who believe in an economic recovery," said Jim Awad, managing director of Zephyr Management in New York. "The real question is what will happen next year after removing the stimulus, but in the short term is good news," he said.
Moreover, the housing price index Standard & Poor's / Case Shiller showed prices of single-family homes rose in January with the annual rate at its lowest close to see an increase from the previous three years.
The S & P housing prices in 20 metropolitan areas rose unexpectedly by 0.3 percent, seasonally adjusted, in line with the increase in December.
However, prices fell 0.4 percent in January on an unadjusted basis.
The median forecast in a Reuters poll pointed to a drop of 0.3 percent and the adjusted rate of 0.2 percent for unadjusted.
(Additional reporting by Lynn Adler, John Parry and Ryan Vlastelica)
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