US consumers still confident in April, but slightly less so

By MATT OTT
AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence dampened slightly in April but remains high even as inflation concerns continue to cloud their optimism about the rest of the year. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index — which takes into account consumers’ assessment of current conditions and their outlook for the future — edged down to 107.3 in April from 107.6 in March. The expectations index, based on consumers’ six-month outlook for income, business and labor market conditions, ticked up to 77.2 in April from 76.7 in March. It remains a weak spot in the survey.