Investing.com - U.S. consumer confidence deteriorated more than expected in April, underlining concerns over the health of the economy, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the Conference Board, a market research group, said its index of consumer confidence fell to 94.2 this month from a reading of 96.1 in March, whose figure was revised from a previously reported 96.2. Analysts expected the index to inch down to 96.0 in April.
The Present Situation Index increased from 114.9 to 116.4, while the Expectations Index decreased from 83.6 to 79.3 in April.
Commenting on the report, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center Lynn Franco said, “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions improved, suggesting no slowing in economic growth. However, their expectations regarding the short-term have moderated, suggesting they do not foresee any pickup in momentum.”
The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was April 14.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1332 from around 1.1323 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4637 from 1.4629 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 110.93 from 111.01 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.20, compared to 94.25 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were modestly higher after the open. The Dow 30 rose 0.35%, the S&P 500 tacked on 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.35%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,244.05 a troy ounce, compared to $1,243.25 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $43.49 a barrel from $43.39 earlier.