US consumer confidence down to four-month low

Washington Confidence among US consumers unexpectedly fell in May to the lowest level in four months as Americans grew more pessimistic about the labour market.

The Conference Board's confidence index decreased to 64.9 from a revised 68.7 in the prior month, figures from the New York-based private research group showed Tuesday.

The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a reading of 69.6.

The weakest payroll gains in six months may raise concerns that economic growth is not fast enough to bring down the jobless rate. More employment is needed to boost consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 per cent of the economy.

"We are making progress when it comes to the labour market, but clearly this is another sign that it's still very slow going," Aaron Smith, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics Inc in Pennsylvania, whose forecast was closest.

"When we see expectations get marked down, that can cause consumers to think twice about making big-ticket purchases."

Home prices in 20 US cities fell in the 12 months ended in March at the slowest pace in more than a year, other data yesterday showed.

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values declined 2.6 per cent from a year earlier, the smallest decrease since December 2010, after a 3.5 per cent drop in February, the group said in New York.