The U.S. consumer confidence index jumped to 39.2 in April

April 28 2009, 01:17 PM
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)

The U.S. consumer confidence index jumped to 39.2 in April from 26.9 in March, the Conference Board reported Tuesday. The 12.3 point gain in the index was the fourth-largest ever in the 32-year history of the survey. Economists were expecting the index to rise about five points to 30.5.

Consumers were a little happier about the present situation than they were in March, but the big improvement came in the expectations index, which surged to 49.5 in April from 30.2 in March, the biggest increase since the fall of Baghdad in the spring of 2003.