The greenback is rising against the yen, having strengthened 15% this year amid loosened monetary policies by the Japanese central bank aimed at spurring economic growth.

The rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at 3.35%, near the low of 3.31% reached last November.

U.S. productivity was muted in the first quarter. Nonfarm business productivity, measured by output per hour, rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.7% annual rate.

Manufacturing employment barely expanded in April.

Consumer confidence rebounded in April. The Conference Board’s index rose 6.2 points from March’s level to 68.1, driven mostly by stronger expectations for later this year

Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% from the prior month after adjusting for inflation.

The nation’s personal-saving rate fell to 2.6% in the first quarter, down from 4.7% in the final three months of 2012.

Jobless claims are at their second-lowest level in five years. The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell 16,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 339,000. The four-week average of claims -- used to smooth out volatility -- fell 4,500 to 357,500. The figures show that layoffs remain low despite recent evidence of slowing job growth.

New orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for business investment, rose 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted $64.5 billion after falling 4.8% in February.

U.S. employers conducted 1,337 mass layoffs -- job cuts involving at least 50 workers -- during March involving 127,939 workers, seasonally adjusted.