By Matt Grossman

The Conference Board's consumer-confidence index fell in November, marking a decline in sentiment amid concerns about inflation and the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.

The November index value stood at 109.5, slipping from a revised 111.6 in October. A panel of economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a reading of 110. The gauge is based on an online survey of consumers.

"Concerns about rising prices--and, to a lesser degree, the Delta variant--were the primary drivers of the slight decline in confidence," said Lynn Franco, the Conference Board's senior director of economic indicators. She noted that in the latest survey, a smaller proportion of consumers said they were planning to buy homes, cars and major appliances over the next six months.

The results are based on data through Nov. 19, before news of the new Omicron Covid-19 variant hit.

The organization's present-situation index, a measure of consumers' perception of current business and labor-market conditions, fell to 142.5 from 145.5 last month. The forward-looking expectations index, based on consumer's short-term outlook, fell to 87.6 from 89.

A declining proportion of consumers surveyed thought that business conditions are good: 17%, compared with 18.3% last month. On the other hand, a growing number of consumers--58%--assessed that jobs are plentiful, compared with 54.8% last month.

Optimism about the economy's next six months increased, with 24.1% of consumers forecasting that business conditions will improve, up from 22.7% last month. The proportion of consumers who see business conditions worsening fell to 20.7%.

Write to Matt Grossman at matt.grossman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 30, 2021 10:42 ET (15:42 GMT)