The Conference Board released its consumer confidence index for the U.S. on Tuesday. The index rose to 101.5 in August from 91.0 in July, exceeding expectations for a rise to 93.4. July's figure was revised up from 90.9.

The increase was mainly driven by the better outlook for current conditions. The present conditions index climbed to 115.1 in August from 104.0 in July. It was the highest level since November 2007.

The Conference Board's consumer expectations index for the next six months increased to 92.5 in August from 82.3 in July.

"Consumers' assessment of current conditions was considerably more upbeat, primarily due to a more favourable appraisal of the labour market," the director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, Lynn Franco, said.

The percentage of consumers expecting more jobs in the coming months was up to 14.6% in August from 13.7% in July.