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Consumer Confidence fell for the second straight month after reaching the highest level in a year in February, as a less favorable short-term outlook outweighed the cautious optimism consumers are feeling about the economy.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index fell to 69.2 in April, down as slight 0.4% from March, but still 4.8% above the level from a year ago. The Present Situation Index increased to 54.0 from 49.9 the prior month and is 27.9% higher than last April, and the Expectations Index dropped 1.7% from March to 81.1 andl sits 2.5% below April 2011 levels.

Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said: “Consumer Confidence was virtually unchanged in April, following a modest decline in March. As was the case last month, the slight dip was prompted by a moderation in consumers’ short-term outlook, while their assessment of current conditions continued to improve. Overall, consumers are more upbeat about the state of the economy, but they remain cautiously optimistic.”

Some Other Findings:

• those stating business conditions are “good” increased to 15.3% from 14.3%, while those claiming business conditions are “bad” also increased to 33.5% from 33.2%
• those saying jobs are “plentiful” declined to 8.4% from 9.0%, while those stating jobs are “hard to get” also fell to 37.5% from 40.7%
• those expecting business conditions to improve over the next 6 months decreased to 18.8% from 19.3%, while those anticipating business conditions will worsen also were up to 14.2% from 13.7%
• those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead fell to 16.9% from 17.4%, while those expecting fewer jobs dropped to 18.0% from 18.5%
• the proportion of consumers expecting an increase in their incomes declined to 14.0% from 15.5%