EU: Business, consumers gloomier about eurozone economy

European business and consumer confidence fell further in September, although Spain posted an improvement, the European Union said on MoThe Economic Sentiment Indicator produced by the European Commission fell to 85 points across the 17-nation eurozone, down 1.1 points from August after its sixth consecutive monthly slide. The indicator remained well below its long-term average of 100 points. Among the biggest national markets, sentiment worsened in Germany by 1.1 points, France fell 1.6 points and the Netherlands dropped 1.2 points, but Spain logged a 1.3-point rise. Across the 27-state European Union as a whole, the score was down by 0.9 points to 86.1 points, Poland shedding 2.2 points and the British economy posting a 0.4-point rise. The Commission said the decrease was due mainly to weaker confidence among services and retail trade managers, and consumers. Consumer confidence weakened by 1.3 points across the eurozone and EU, although unemployment fears "broadly stabilised," Brussels said.nday.