The Conference Board released its consumer confidence index for the U.S. on Tuesday. The index dropped to 92.2 in February from 97.8 in January, missing expectations for a fall to 97.0. January's figure was revised down from 98.1.

The present conditions index dropped to 112.1 in February from 116.6 in January.

The Conference Board's consumer expectations index for the next six months decreased to 78.9 in February from 85.3 in January.

The percentage of consumers expecting more jobs in the coming months was down to 22.1% in February from 23.0% in January.

"Consumers' assessment of current conditions weakened, primarily due to a less favourable assessment of business conditions. Consumers' short-term outlook grew more pessimistic, with consumers expressing greater apprehension about business conditions, their personal financial situation, and to a lesser degree, labour market prospects," the director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, Lynn Franco, said.