NEW YORK, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. consumer confidence index dropped by 5.4 points in June, falling to 93.0 from 98.4 in May, according to the latest survey results issued by The Conference Board on Tuesday morning.

"Consumer confidence weakened in June, erasing almost half of May's sharp gains," said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist for global indicators at The Conference Board. "The decline was broad-based across components, with consumers' assessments of the present situation and their expectations for the future both contributing to the deterioration."

The Present Situation Index, which reflects consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions, declined by 6.4 points to 129.1. At the same time, the Expectations Index, which is based on consumers' short-term outlook for income, employment, and business conditions, fell by 4.6 points to 69.0. That reading is significantly below the 80-point threshold that often signals a recession is likely in the coming months.

The results, based on data collected before June 18, came at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty.

Guichard added: "Consumers' write-in responses revealed little change since May in the top issues impacting their views of the economy. Tariffs remained on top of consumers' minds and were frequently associated with concerns about their negative impacts on the economy and prices. Inflation and high prices were another important concern cited by consumers in June."

However, there were a few more mentions of easing inflation compared to last month. This is in line with a cooling in consumers' average 12-month inflation expectations to 6.0 percent, down from 6.4 in May and 7 in April. References to geopolitics and social unrest increased slightly from previous months but remained much lower on the list of topics affecting consumers' views, according to Guichard.

American consumers were notably less upbeat about current business conditions than in May. Their view of job availability weakened for the sixth month in a row, though it remained in positive territory, suggesting that labor market conditions are still relatively solid. The outlook for the next six months deteriorated further, as consumers expressed more pessimism about future business conditions, job prospects, and income growth.

Despite the drop in consumer confidence, U.S. stocks jumped Tuesday morning as investors reacted positively to U.S. President Donald Trump's directive for Israel to halt its strikes on Iran. The market's gains came in sharp contrast to the weakening consumer sentiment report, underscoring Wall Street's focus on geopolitical developments. ■