Eurozone consumer confidence rose for the second consecutive month in February as Europeans showed timid signs of increased spending after last year's collapse in morale.
Consumer confidence nudged climbed to -20.2 from a revised -20.7 reading in January, up from a 26-month low in December, the European Union's statistics office Eurostat said on Tuesday. The figure for January had earlier been put at -20.6.
In the wider 27-member European Union, consumer sentiment also rose to -20.1 from -20.8.
Consumer spending makes up more than half of the euro zone's economic output but households are being badly squeezed by wage cuts, government spending freezes and record unemployment.
EU leaders want to drive economic growth and employment after two years of crisis and austerity, but the 27-nation bloc has little immediate cash to invest and faces the longer-term challenge of falling productivity and an ageing workforce.
The International Monetary Fund forecasts a 0.5 percent contraction in 2012 in the eurozone.
Comments
Comments are closed.