U.S. Consumer Confidence Index Falls to 26-Year Low

In "bloomberg.com Economy":

April 11 (Bloomberg) -- Confidence among U.S. consumers sank to a 26-year low in April as the labor market continued to deteriorate and gasoline prices rose.

The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment decreased to 63.2 from 69.5 in March. The reading was below the lowest forecast in a Bloomberg News survey and the weakest since March 1982.

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The index of consumer expectations for six months from now, which more closely projects the direction of consumer spending, fell to 53.4, the lowest reading since November 1990, from 60.1 last month.

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The economy will not expand at all the first six months of this year, according to the Bloomberg survey taken from April 2 to April 8. A majority of those polled also projected the world's largest economy is, or will soon be, in a recession.

The Reuters/University of Michigan current conditions index, which reflects Americans' perceptions of their financial situation and whether it's a good time to make big-ticket purchases, dropped to 78.4, the lowest since January 1983, from 84.1 in March.

 

Import Prices

The 2.8 percent increase in the import price index followed a 0.2 percent gain the prior month, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. Expenses excluding fuels jumped 0.9 percent, the most since records began in 2001.

Higher energy costs have weighed on consumers' outlooks in recent months. The average price of crude oil futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange in March jumped to $105.42 a barrel, from $95.01 a month earlier.

Artigo completo em: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aPxxISSEt8iE&refer=home