Consumer confidence fell more than forecast in November as Americans struggled with surging fuel costs and falling home prices.

The Conference Board’s confidence index decreased to 87.3, the lowest level since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the New York-based group said today. House values dropped 4.5 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the most since records began in 1988, S&P/Case-Shiller reported separately today.

The gloomier mood increases the likelihood that holiday sales, which account for a fifth of retailers’ yearly revenue, will be disappointing. Federal Reserve policy makers and private economists have cut growth forecasts as the housing slump enters its third year and jeopardizes consumer spending. [MORE]