Falling consumer confidence and the Presidents' Day weekend snowstorm that blanketed much of the U.S. East Coast put a chill on car and

light truck sales in February, analysts said, according to a Reuters report.

Automakers are expected to report on March 3 a slight drop in light vehicle sales to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate between 16.1 million and 16.4 million vehicles, down from 16.5 million in February last year, according to a survey of eight industry analysts.

The looming U.S. showdown with Iraq, rising energy prices and a shaky economy sent U.S. consumer confidence to its lowest levels in nearly 10 years, the U.S. Conference Board, a

private business research group, said on Feb. 25. Those factors also hurt auto sales, analysts said.

Paul Taylor, chief economist with the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), said auto sales were already down about 2 percent from February last year before the snowstorm hit

the eastern United States. "The whole eastern seaboard, one of the rich mother lodes of car sales, basically slowed to a crawl for several

days," Taylor said. "We know sales will be down. We think by late spring we will have caught up, in part because a lot of people will have a severe case of cabin fever by the time they shovel out of this."

Taylor reported that January orders for durable goods posted the biggest monthly jump since July, and transportation orders accounted for much of the increase. He said that franchised dealers held an 85-day supply of light vehicles at the end of January (96 days for the Big 3). When the weather clears in the spring, many dealers expect customers to be attracted by a large selection of vehicles and strong incentives, according to NADA.