Americans’ confidence in economy holds steady

Americans’ confidence in the economy was resilient in April despite rising job cuts and falling home values.

The Conference Board, a private research group, said on Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index is at 69.2, down slightly from a revised 69.5 in March. Economists were expecting a reading of 70, according to a FactSet poll of analysts. The current level is below February’s 71.6, which had been the highest level reached in about a year.

Consumer confidence is widely watched because consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. The current level is significantly below the 90 reading that indicates a healthy economy. But it’s well above its all-time low of 25.3 in February 2009.

“I am much relieved,” said Mark Vitner, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities. “I thought we would see a large drop. It shows that consumers are tuning out the bad news.”

Economists are paying close attention to consumers’ behavior because the U.S. economy is at a critical juncture. New reports that show rising layoffs and slowing home sales are raising concerns that the economic recovery is facing a spring slowdown for the third straight year. The stock market rally also has lost steam in recent weeks amid renewed worries about the European financial crisis and the economy at home. Read more......