US consumer confidence took a sharp hit in February but experts said the US economy remained on track for recovery from recession.

Accounting scandals and a weak labour market had unnerved people, analysts said, dragging down the Conference Board's consumer confidence index to 94.1 points from January's five-month high of 97.8 points. Wall Street analysts had forecast a figure of 97.0 points.

Confidence is a key factor in consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of US economic activity. Still, the business research group said the decline in the index was not necessarily a harbinger of a drop-off in spending.

"While confidence has weakened from January's level, both components of the index still point to healthy consumer spending in the months ahead," said the Conference Board's consumer analyst Ms Lynn Franco.