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Consumer Confidence Soars in April

Consumer confidence jumped significantly in April amid hopeful signs that the worst of the recession may be behind us. The Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index shot up to 39.2 from a revised 26.9 in March. The reading marks the highest level since November's 44.7. However, the index remains well below year-ago levels of 62.8. The April gains were fueled by "a significant improvement in the short-term outlook," Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said. She added that the index measuring how consumers currently feel, which posted a moderate gain, signaled that "conditions have not deteriorated further and may even moderately improve in the second quarter." The Present Situation rose slightly to 23.7 from 21.9 in March. The Expectations Index, which measures how consumers feel about the economy over the next six months, skyrocketed to 49.5 from 30.2 in March. Franco said April's sharp increase indicates that people believe the economy is near a bottom, but added that the index remains well below the level associated with strong economic growth.

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Date Last Updated: 04/30/2009