Confidence in the European economy worsened more than expected in October amid growing signs a recovery is losing pace, a European Union survey released today shows.
The European Commission's euro zone economic sentiment indicator retreated in October to 105.9 points in the single currency bloc from 106.9 in September and against economists' expectations for 106.5.
The outlook also darkened in the broader 27-member European Union, where the indicator slumped to 109.5 points in October from 110.6 in September, the EU's executive arm said.
Although the growing pessimism was widespread, confidence was only slightly weaker in regional powerhouses Germany and Italy and even improved marginally in France.
A separate euro zone business climate indicator from the European Commission also worsened, dropping to 0.87 points in October from 1.08 points in September.
The data come amid mounting evidence that a surging euro, record oil prices and tight credit conditions are increasingly taking their toll on the European economy.
