The European Commission’s flash consumer-confidence indicator fell to −17.9 points in the euro area in October, down 1.1 points from September. For the EU as a whole, it declined 1.2 points to −17.3, according to the release dated 22 October.
The Commission said confidence moved further below its long-term average. The indicator is based on survey responses; it measures sentiment rather than directly recording how much households spent.
The release also flags a revision to September’s results after Italian consumer-survey data were included again in the European calculations. The Italian series has a methodological break between August and September. That note matters when comparing a newly released number with earlier headlines.
Data collection ran from 1 to 21 October. The flash estimate uses information available at the cut-off; the full business and consumer-survey release is scheduled for 29 October. Readers should distinguish this early sentiment reading from later releases and from measures of actual economic activity.
Context
A negative survey balance is not a percentage fall in consumption. The survey is one signal about household attitudes, not a complete diagnosis of the economy.
Sources
Original summary based on the sources above, checked for the October 23, 2026 edition. Reference dates are shown separately from the edition date.