The Conference Board announced on Tuesday its U.S. consumer confidence fell
2.7 points to 101.3 in April from a downwardly revised 104.0 (from 104.2) in
March.
Economists had predicted the consumer confidence index to come in at 104.0.
The details of the survey revealed that the April drop in the headline index
was due to a decline in the expectations index (-5.9
points to 68.1 this month). Meanwhile, the present situation index increased (+2.2
points to 151.1).
Commenting on the results of the last survey, Ataman Ozyildirim, senior director,
economics, at the Conference Board, noted that consumers' expectations fell and stood
below the level which often signals a recession looming in the short term.
"Consumers became more pessimistic about the outlook for both business
conditions and labor markets,” he added. “Compared to last month, fewer
households expect business conditions to improve and more expect worsening of
conditions in the next six months. They also expect fewer jobs to be available
over the short term.”