Euro-Zone Consumer Confidence Weakens
LONDON--Consumers in the 17 countries that use the euro became more downbeat about their prospects in November as the currency bloc's fiscal crisis deepened, weakening the outlook for the economy and the jobs market.</br></br>The European Commission Tuesday said that according to preliminary results from its monthly sentiment survey, the headline measure of consumer confidence fell to minus 20.4 from minus 19.9 in October, reaching its lowest level since August 2009 and well below its average going back to 1990 of minus 12.5.</br></br>It was the fifth straight month in which the measure declined, indicating that consumer spending will weaken, and increasing the risk that the currency area's economy will slip back into recession.</br></br>"The further drop in consumer confidence in November fuels concern that the euro zone is in serious danger of seeing economic contraction in the fourth quarter and falling back into recession," said Howard Archer, an economist at IHS Global Insight.</br></br>The decline in confidence came as yields on Italian and Spanish government bonds surged to levels that make it more difficult to meet budget targets, while a number of other members that have so far been immune to investor concerns have also seen their cost of borrowing rise.