Eurozone consumer confidence close to all-time high in January

BRUSSELS, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Eurozone consumer confidence jumped to a near-record high in January, data from the European Commission showed on Tuesday.

The official data said the flash estimate of the consumer confidence indicator in Eurozone increased by 0.8 points from December to +1.3 points in January.

The increase was stronger than the consensus expectation and is now close to the record high of +2.1, recorded in May 2000.

Continued improvements in the labour market and increases in equity prices seem to have trumped other factors, such as political uncertainty in Germany and Spain and rising fuel prices, according to Stephen Brown, European economist at Capital Economics.

"Prospects for spending growth are bright. Not only is employment set to rise further, but lower unemployment should help to push up wage growth. Moreover, families in Germany should benefit from a fiscal boost if a grand coalition is formed," he added.

Brown said, in all, continued healthy spending growth is one reason why we expect the eurozone's economic recovery to continue apace this year, with GDP growth of 2.5 percent. Enditem