Republicans seeking their party's nomination for president, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, blame President Barack Obama for the increase in energy costs.
Obama countered yesterday that his detractors are "stuck in the past."
Solar, Wind
"They dismiss wind power; they dismiss solar power; they make jokes about biofuels," Obama told students at Prince George's Community College in Largo, Maryland, outside Washington. "They were against raising fuel standards. I guess they like gas-guzzlers."
The Michigan survey's index of current conditions, which reflects Americans' perceptions of their financial situation and whether it is a good time to buy big-ticket items like cars, climbed to 84.2 from 83 the prior month.
The index of consumer expectations for six months from now, which more closely projects the direction of consumer spending, dropped to 68 from a one-year high of 70.3.
A separate report today from the Fed showed industrial production was little changed in February as automakers cut back following a surge the previous month and mining declined.
Output at factories, mines and utilities fell short of the median projection in a Bloomberg News survey of economists that called for a 0.4 percent gain. January production was revised to a 0.4 percent increase, previously reported as no change. Factory production, which makes up about 75 percent of total output, rose at the slowest pace in three months.