After reporting a significant rebound in U.S. consumer confidence in the previous month, the Conference Board released a report on Tuesday showing that its consumer confidence index unexpectedly pulled back sharply in the month of April.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index tumbled to 95.2 in April from an upwardly revised 101.4 in March.
The steep drop came as a surprise to economists, who had expected the consumer confidence index to climb to a reading of 102.5.
Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at the Conference Board, said, "Consumer confidence, which had rebounded in March, gave back all of the gain and more in April."
"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," she added.
The report said the present situation index dropped for the third straight month, falling to 106.8 in April from 109.5 in March.
The percentage of consumers saying current business conditions are "good" edged down to 26.5 percent from 26.7 percent, although those saying conditions are "bad" also fell to 18.2 percent from 19.4 percent.
Consumers were also less favorable in their assessment of the job market, as those saying jobs are "plentiful" dropped to 19.1 percent from 21.0 percent and those saying jobs are "hard to get" rose to 26.4 percent from 25.5 percent.
The report also said the expectations index fell to 87.5 in April from 96.0 in March, indicating a pullback in optimism about the short-term outlook.
The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months dipped to 16.0 percent from 16.8 percent, while those expecting business conditions to worsen increased to 9.4 percent from 8.1 percent.
The Conference Board said the outlook for the labor market also deteriorated, as consumers expecting more jobs in the months ahead decreased to 13.8 percent from 15.3 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs rose to 16.3 percent from 13.6 percent.
Friday morning, the University of Michigan is scheduled to release its revised report on consumer sentiment in the month of April.
Economists currently expect the consumer sentiment index for April to be upwardly revised to 96.0 from the mid-month reading of 95.9. The index came in at 93.0 in March.
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Forex News
April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.