Consumer

U.S. consumer confidence dropped in June after rising for three months, adding to the view the economic recovery is slowing, while home prices unexpectedly climbed in April.

The report Tuesday from The Conference Board, an industry group, showed the drop in confidence came from worries about the labor market which has been one of weakest areas of the U.S. economy.

The group’s index of consumer attitudes fell to 52.9 in June from a downwardly revised 62.7 in May. The June figure was sharply below the median of forecasts from analysts polled by Reuters.

Assessment of the labor market also worsened, with the “jobs hard to get” index rising while the “jobs plentiful” index slipped.

“There remain a lot of questions around the sustainability of economic growth,” said Sean Simko, fixed-income portfolio manager in Oaks, Pennsylvania. source: www.reuters.com/article/