The European
Commission (EC) said on Monday its flash estimate showed the consumer
confidence indicator for the Eurozone rose by 3.7 points to -13.9 in December from
an unrevised -17.6 in the previous month. That was the highest reading
since September.
Economists had
expected the index to increase to -16.8.
Considering the
European Union (EU) as a whole, consumer sentiment improved by 3.4 points to -15.3.
Despite this
month’s gains, both indicators remained well below their long-term averages of
-11.2 (Eurozone) and -10.7 (EU).