U.S. consumer confidence index falls sharply in November

The U.S. Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index released on Tuesday stood at 88.7 in November, down 6.8 points from 95.5 in October.

The Present Situation Index, based on consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions, declined by 4.3 points to 126.9. The Expectations Index, which gauges consumers' short-term outlook for income, business and labor market conditions, fell 8.6 points to 63.2.

Consumer confidence tumbled in November to its lowest level since April after months of moving sideways, said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, adding that all five components of the overall index had either flagged or remained weak.

The Expectations Index has now been below 80 for 10 straight months, a level historically associated with a recession signal. The survey's preliminary data cutoff was Nov. 18.

Peterson also said consumers were notably more pessimistic about business conditions six months ahead, noting that mid-2026 expectations for labor market conditions remained decidedly negative, while expectations for higher household incomes shrank dramatically after six months of strongly positive readings.

Consumer sentiment regarding the labor market was more pessimistic in November, with only 27.6 percent of respondents saying jobs were "plentiful," down from 28.6 percent in October.

The survey results arrived the same day payroll processor ADP reported that U.S. private-sector employers shed an average of 13,500 jobs per week over the past four weeks ending Nov. 8.

U.S. consumer confidence index falls sharply in November

U.S. consumer confidence index falls sharply in November

U.S. consumer confidence index falls sharply in November

Heavy rains prompted several regions across China to activate emergency responses on Sunday, with warnings of possible disasters caused by days of intense rains in some areas.

The meteorological service of Nanning City, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, issued an orange lightning warning on Sunday morning.

It warned that most urban areas of Nanning will be affected by thunderstorm and some parts of the city will see heavy precipitation and strong winds.

The lightning warning was followed by another yellow warning for rainstorm, with most parts of Nanning to see heavy rains of 20 to 40 millimeters.

In some areas, precipitation will exceed 50 millimeters and will also be accompanied by thunder and gusty winds.

The central province of Hubei activated a Level III emergency response for major meteorological disasters on Sunday morning.

Local meteorological service estimated that from Sunday night to Tuesday, the province will see heavy to torrential rains and some regions will experience downpours accompanied by severe convective weather.

Local authorities said the public should stay alert to secondary disasters triggered by persistent heavy rains.

Rains hit north China's Tianjin Municipality on Saturday night.

The rainfall intensified significantly on Sunday morning and the rainy weather is projected to last until Monday.

Heavy rains prompt emergency responses in several regions