Consumer morale up

Consumer morale in the euro zone improved to a two-year high in September, the European Commission said, with confidence in the wider European Union surpassing its long-term average for the first time since the summer of 2011. Consumer confidence in the 17 countries using the euro rose to -14.9 points in September from -15.6 points in August, coming slightly below market expectations for a rise to -14.5 points. The reading was the best since August 2011, when it stood at -16.5. In the whole of the European Union, consumer confidence recovered even more strongly to -11.7 from -12.8 in August. The euro zone pulled out of recession in the second quarter on stronger German and French growth.