U.S. April Consumer Confidence - Labor markets seen as less strong
April consumer confidence with a fall to 97.0 from 103.1 is weaker than expected and the lowest since July 2022. The easiest explanation for this is rising bond yields and fading expectations for rate cuts, though there are hints that the labor market is losing momentum too.
The decline was led by expectations (down 7.6 points to 66.4) with current conditions falling a more moderate 3.9 points to 142.9, with the latter still quite strong.
The labor differential between those seeing jobs as plentiful and those seeing them as hard to get slipped to 25.3% from 29.5% to reach its lowest since November, not a sign of weakness but a hint that Aprils’ payroll will not be as strong as recent releases.
Inflation expectations were unchanged at an average of 5.3%, and have seen little movement in the last four months.
