LIVE: Auto sales
Throughout Tuesday, the big carmakers will be reporting their US sales numbers for February.
Analysts forecast that auto sales rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17.70 million, up from 17.46 million in January, according to Bloomberg.
The year kicked off with sales growing at the fastest pace since 2000. And so this forecast increase would maintain a solid couple of months for car sales, following the post-recession high that was recorded last year.
In a note to clients previewing the data, Deutsche Bank economists described this report as among their top five indicators. That's because vehicles are big-ticket items, so they are typically bought when households are confident about their income prospects. Also, they're a good gauge of consumer spending.
However, they were slightly less bullish on auto sales during 2016, writing, "We doubt vehicle sales will improve upon 2015's near-record pace, because there is much less pent-up demand, and financing is likely to be less generous."
We'll have the latest as the data cross, so refresh this page for updates.