German consumer confidence slipped in November as energy cost rises tied to the Iran war continued to pressure household finances, Nuremberg-based Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) and GfK said on Wednesday. GfK’s November consumer confidence index fell to -30.8 from -30.6 in October. NIM consumer sentiment head Rolf Buerkl said rising inflation concerns and a weak income outlook are keeping consumers doubtful about their personal finances and curbing willingness to make big-ticket purchases,

Israeli Prime Minister NETANYAHU said a government that relies on anti-Zionist Arab parties must never be formed.

At midday close, China domestic futures main contracts were mixed with more gains than losses. Ethylene glycol (EG) led advances, up over 5%; synthetic rubber, polypropylene (month-average contract), asphalt and PVC rose more than 3%; polypropylene was up about 3%; coking coal and alumina gained over 2%. On the downside, lithium carbonate fell more than 4%, caustic soda dropped over 3%, fiberboard slid over 2%, the container-shipping Europe route eased about 2%, and palladium and pulp were down roughly 1%.