Consumer and business confidence retreated modestly in April, the Conference Board of Canada said today.

The research group said consumers’ confidence about their short-term financial and job prospects fell 3.4 points to 121.1.

The survey is based on interviews with 2,000 people between April 7 and 12.

After falling 11 points in the winter survey, business confidence declined another 3.9 points to 135.9 in April. The Conference Board said the number of firms expecting their financial positions to improve fell five percentage points to 43%.

However, businesses were slightly more upbeat about the near-term strength of the economy, and remained positive about their investment intentions, the research group said.

“Canadian companies are in the midst of adjusting to life with a stronger dollar,” said Pedro Antunes, director of economic forecasting at the Conference Board.

“A majority of companies – 63% – said they planned to increase investment spending in the next six months, as imported machinery and equipment is now cheaper,” he said.