Conference Board US Consumer Confidence dropped to 120.0 in March, down from 132.6, but beat expectation of 115.1. Present Situation Index dropped from 169.3 to 167.7. Expectations Index, however, dropped sharply from 108.1 to 88.2.

“Consumer confidence declined sharply in March due to a deterioration in the short-term outlook,” said Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board.

“The Present Situation Index remained relatively strong, reflective of an economy that was on solid footing, and prior to the recent surge in unemployment claims.

“However, the intensification of COVID-19 and extreme volatility in the financial markets have increased uncertainty about the outlook for the economy and jobs. March’s decline in confidence is more in line with a severe contraction – rather than a temporary shock – and further declines are sure to follow.”

Full release here.

US continues to top the coronavirus cases chart with over 160k confirmed cases now (3165 deaths). President Donald Trump said that there were more than 1 million Americans tested, which is a milestone. He indicated that there were discussion in the White House regarding a national stay-at-home order. However, It’s “pretty unlikely, I would think, at this time”, as some parts of the country are “frankly not in trouble at all”. “The guidelines will be very much as they are, maybe even toughened up a little bit,” he also indicated.

Separately, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told G20 trade ministers that “over-dependence on other countries as a source of cheap medical products and supplies has created a strategic vulnerability to our economy”. “For the United States, we are encouraging diversification of supply chains and seeking to promote more manufacturing at home.”

A major component of the USD 2.2T coronavirus relief package approved by Congress last week is the USD 350B small business financing. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said today that the loans will be available starting on Friday, and the sign up would be “very, very easy”.

He expected that the program would cover around 50% of the private workforce. And, “if we run out of money, and this is a huge success, we will absolutely go back to Congress and ask for more money.”

Meanwhile, he said, “I expect that with all of this liquidity we’re putting into the economy to get through the next couple of months, when we reopen, we’ll be ready and the economy will surge back.”

US President Donald Trump announced to extend the stay-at-home guidelines until the end of April, abandoning the target to have American return to normal life from coronavirus pandemic by Easter. He also warned, “the peak, the highest point of death rate, is likely to hit in two weeks.” He hoped the country would reach “the bottom of the hill” by June 1 — “could even be sooner, could be a little bit later.”

Separately, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci warned that coronavirus deaths in the US could reach 100,000 to 200,000. Nevertheless, “we feel the mitigation we are doing right now is having an effect,” Fauci said. “The decision to extend this mitigation process until the end of April is a wise and prudent decision.”