The consumer confidence index slid to 96.4 in February from a revised 103.8 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.
The January index was originally reported as 102.9.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 99.6 reading for the index.
The present situation index dipped to 110.2 from a revised 113.9, first reported as 112.6, while the expectations index fell to 87.2 from a revised 97.0, first reported as 96.4.
"After a large gain in January, consumer confidence retreated in February, but still remains at pre-recession levels (September 2007, Index, 99.5)," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. "Consumers' assessment of current conditions remained positive, but short-term expectations declined. While the number of consumers expecting conditions to deteriorate was virtually unchanged, fewer consumers expect conditions to improve, prompting a less upbeat outlook. Despite this month's decline, consumers remain confident that the economy will continue to expand at the current pace in the months ahead."
Business conditions were called "good" by 26.0% of respondents in February, down from 28.2% in January. Those saying conditions are "bad" slid to 17.0% from 17.3%.
The percentage of consumers expecting a pickup in business conditions in the next half year declined to 16.1% from 18.9%, while 8.7% said they expect conditions to worsen, up from 8.2% in the prior month.
On the jobs front, those who believe jobs are "plentiful" slipped to 20.5% in February from 20.7% in January, while the number saying jobs are "hard to get" rose to 26.2% from 24.6%. The respondents who see fewer jobs becoming available in a half year, decreased to 14.3% from 14.8%. Those expecting more jobs to become available fell to 13.4% from 17.3%, The Conference Board reported.
The consumer confidence survey is based on a probability design random sample by the Nielsen Company.
