HispanicBusiness

The European Commission said Tuesday consumer confidence fell in the eurozone in October but was steady in the European Union.

In a release posted on the European Union Web site, the European Commission said the Economic Sentiment Indicator was unchanged from September in the 27-member EU, holding at 86.2.

The index, however, lost 0.7 points in the 17-member eurozone, dropping to 84.5 in the month.

In the 27-member EU, "marked declines in the industry and construction sectors were offset by improvements in services and retail trade," the commission said.

In the eurozone, similar declines "outweighed the improvement in the retail trade sector, while confidence in services and among consumers remained broadly stable," the commission said.

The commission noted the pace of erosion in consumer confidence had slowed in both regions. Further, four out of seven of the largest European economies saw gains in the index.

In France, the Economic Sentiment Indicator rose by 1.8 points, 5.2 points in Britain, 1.8 points in Spain, 0.8 points in Netherlands and 0.5 points in Italy.

In Germany, the index lost 1.4 points and 2.8 points in Poland.