US consumers still confident in April, but slightly less so

U.S. consumer confidence dampened slightly in April but remains high and inflation concerns continue to weigh on their short-term outlook

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U.S. consumer confidence dampened slightly in April but remains high as inflation concerns continue to weigh on their short-term outlook.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index — which takes into account consumers’ assessment of current conditions and their outlook for the future — edged down to 107.3 in April, from 107.6 in March.

The business research group’s present situation index, which measures consumers’ assessment of current business and labor conditions, also dipped modestly this month to 152.6 from 153.8 in March.

The expectations index, based on consumers’ six-month outlook for income, business and labor market conditions, ticked up to 77.2 in April from 76.7 in March. It stood at 80.8 in February and remains a weak spot in the survey. Concerns about inflation retreated from an all-time high in March, the board said, but remain elevated.