Confidence of U.S. consumers continues to decline as Americans worry about the future

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer confidence deteriorated for the third straight month as Americans continue to fret about their short-term financial futures.

The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 97 in April from 103.1 in March.

The index measures both Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months.

The index measuring Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market tumbled to 66.4 from 74 last month. A reading under 80 can signal a potential recession in the near future.

Consumers’ view of current conditions retreated to 142.9 from 146.8 in March.