Consumers in Florida continue to surprise me. I had expected consumer confidence to remain the same or decline this month, but consumers felt differently.
We expect a decline in consumer confidence as several factors come to bear on the consumer.
We had been expecting a decline in confidence for the past couple of months, and it finally came in February.
Continued declines in gasoline prices, an upbeat stock market and high levels of employment all contributed to gains in consumer confidence this month.