Consumer Confidence Below Expectations in April

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for April came in at 95.2. Expectations were to see an increase to 102.2 over March’s index of 101.3. March was very high, beating the consensus forecast of 96.4.

Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at the Conference Board, said in the release: “This month’s retreat was prompted by a softening in current conditions, likely sparked by the recent lackluster performance of the labor market, and apprehension about the short-term outlook."

Before the release, Bank of America Merril Lynch economists noted a weak job report in March and climbing gas prices may create less consumer optimism about the economy. Consumers expecting job growth fell to 13.8% from 15.3% and those expecting fewer jobs rose to 16.3% from 13.6%. Also, 11.2% of consumers are expecting wage cuts, up from 9.7% in March.

Source: Business Insider