The final reading for the February Reuters/Michigan index of consumer sentiment came in at 101.0 compared to a preliminary reading of 100.9 and the January final reading of 99.8. That was the highest reading since March 2018.

Economists had forecast the index to be unrevised at 100.9.

According to the report, the index of the current economic conditions edged up to 114.8 from January's final reading of 114.4.

Meanwhile, the index of consumer expectations rose to 2.1 from January's final reading of 90.5.

Richard Curtin, the Surveys of Consumers chief economist, noted that the coronavirus was mentioned by 8 percent of all consumers in February when describing the reasons for their economic expectations, although on the last days of the February survey, 20 percent mentioned the coronavirus due to the sharp decline in equity prices as well as the CDC warnings about the potential domestic threat of the virus. "While too few cases were conducted to attach any statistical significance to the findings, it is nonetheless true that the domestic spread of the virus could have a significant impact on consumer spending", he added.