US consumer confidence rebounds in April

Washington: US consumer confidence rebounded in April, recovering some of the decline in the prior month as Americans were more upbeat about the near term, according to a monthly survey released on Tuesday.

But some of the results were more mixed and sentiment is well below the record level hit in February, according to a report from The Conference Board.

The consumer confidence index rose 1.7 points to 128.7 compared to March, as sentiment about the present situation and expectations both increased.

Lynn Franco, director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, said the survey showed "consumers rating both business and labor market conditions quite favorably."

The percentage of consumers expecting their incomes to decline over the coming months reached its lowest level since December 2000 at 6.0 percent, she said.

"Overall, confidence levels remain strong and suggest that the economy will continue expanding at a solid pace in the months ahead."

Consumers were moderately more positive about the short-term outlook in April. The percentage anticipating business conditions will improve over the next six months increased, while those expecting business conditions will worsen decreased.

The outlook for the labor market also was more positive, as a larger share of consumers expect more jobs to be available in the months ahead.

However, there were mixed signals about the present situation as fewer labeled conditions as good, but the share saying conditions were bad also fell.

Sentiment about current labor conditions also were mixed, as the percentage of consumers claiming jobs are "plentiful" declined, while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" also declined slightly.