US consumer confidence falls in November

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer confidence fell in November following a big gain in the previous month.

The Conference Board says its consumer confidence index fell to 88.7 in November, down from a seven-year high of 94.5 in October.

Conference Board economist Lynn Franco says that the decline primarily reflected reduced optimism in the short-term outlook, as consumers expressed less confidence in current business conditions and the present state of the job market.

But she adds that expectations about future income remained virtually unchanged. With gas prices falling, this should help boost holiday sales.