European Consumer Confidence

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® for the Euro Area fell to –135.3, down from –110.4 in September, a decrease of more than 25 points. The decline was driven by a worsening of current and future financial conditions (a 12 and eight-point fall, respectively), while pessimistic views about the outlook remained largely unchanged. October marks the second consecutive decline in confidence, fast approaching the deep-pessimistic levels in April and May when the US–Iran war broke out.

The European Commission made some revisions to the past data, and this survey incorporates EU broad data, expanding from previous analysis to include non-Euro Area countries.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® for the Euro Area standardizes DG ECFIN consumer survey data since 1985 against the long-term average. A value of zero represents the long-term average. Readings above +100 indicate clear consumer optimism, while readings below –100 indicate clear consumer pessimism.

“Euro Area consumer confidence declined for a second consecutive month in October as households continue to contend with renewed price pressures, slower wage growth, and significant uncertainty over how higher energy prices will affect the bloc’s growth outlook,” said Konstantinos Panitsas, Economist at The Conference Board. “The country detail is particularly striking in France, where confidence plunged to its weakest level since early 2023. Political uncertainty, social tensions, and weak growth are already weighing on households’ expectations. The budget debate adds another layer of concern, as households are being asked to look ahead while facing the prospect of more restraint, whether through changes to taxes and benefits or weaker income growth.”

Focusing on Spain—which had its first CCI reading since the November 29 election was announced—Alejandro Fiorito, Economist at The Conference Board, added, “While there was not much movement in the aggregate index, deteriorating views on household’s financial situation—which reached their lowest point since March 2024—do not bode well for the government coalition. Inflation reaching 4.9% year-on-year in September was reflected in consumers’ views of current prices—the most pessimistic in 25 months—as well as weakening spending expectations and negative views on household’s financial situation. On the upside, improving economic expectations and financial expectations point to a potential recovery in consumer confidence once the election uncertainty passes in Europe’s strongest economy.”

He continued, “The upcoming reading for November—which will come out the Friday before the election, in a week when polls are not allowed—will be a crucial reading for companies and is likely to reflect further uncertainty around the election.”

Euro Area Overview

The breakdown of the overall Euro Area index shows that in October:

• Households’ assessment of their financial situation over the past 12 months fell by 12 points (–27.6 in October, down from –15.5 a month ago). That’s the worst reading since late 2023.
• Expectations for households’ financial situation over the next 12 months deteriorated, down from –26.2 in September to –34.2 in October.  
• Expectations for the general economic situation over the next 12 months had a marginal improvement from last month, a 1.5-point increase from –45.2 in September to –43.8 in October.  
• Intentions to make major purchases (spending expectations) over the next 12 months remained in negative territory, decreasing from –23.4 a month ago to –29.7 in October. That is the lowest reading since early 2024.

These trends were associated with:

• Perceptions of inflation worsened sharply in October. Households’ assessment of price developments over the past 12 months fell to –168.4, from –147.3 in September—the weakest reading since March 2024. The recent rise in Euro Area inflation is increasingly being felt beyond energy and across a broader range of goods (e.g., food prices) and services.
• Inflation expectations over the next 12 months ease modestly. Expectations for consumer prices over the next 12 months improved from –92.2 in September to –84.9 in October. Yet they remain deeply negative, indicating that households still expect cost-of-living pressures to remain elevated.
• Unemployment expectations deteriorated further in October. Euro Area consumers remain pessimistic about the labor market outlook over the next 12 months, with the subcomponent falling from –10.3 in September to –11.7. This marks the eighth consecutive negative reading since the Iran war began. While concerns have eased considerably from their initial low of around –44 in April, October’s decline shows that households remain worried about heightened uncertainty and a softer labor market outlook across the Euro Area.

Country Highlights

Country-level confidence improved across the Euro Area in September compared to August. Among the largest economies:

• Germany: Consumer confidence fell by four points to –81:
  • After weakening spending intentions and financial expectations in September, household’s financial situation shows the largest drop (a moderate six points), with economic expectations, financial expectations, and spending expectations remaining relatively unchanged.

• France: Consumer confidence plunged by 64 points to –163, the lowest level in 44 months, since February 2023:
  • This sharp drop—in the context of substantial social unrest—was comparable to the decrease experienced in April when the war in Iran started (the index fell by 70 points at the time to –146). The four components are driving this result: household financial situation and financial expectations sit at –40 and –49, down 20 and 26 points respectively from September and the lowest levels since 2023; economic expectations fell by eight points to the lowest level since September 22; and spending expectations dropped by 11 points to –15, comparable to April levels and the lowest in more than 10 years.

• Italy: After not reporting consumer confidence data in September, consumer confidence in Italy came negative at –120 in October, a pessimistic level, above its April low of –135 but well below the 2025 average of –46.
  • Deteriorating spending expectations (–52 in October compared to –46 in September and +4 in the 2025 average) drive Italian consumers’ pessimism. The three other components remain negative, to varying degrees: household’s financial situation at –7 (deteriorating slightly from September), financial expectations at –20 (improving slightly from September and at its highest level since July 2025), and economic expectations at –39 (improving slightly from September). This improvement in forward-looking components may point to decreasing pessimism in coming months.

• Spain: Consumer confidence remained stable, increasing by one point to –25, up from the recent low point of –42 in May, but below the 2025 average of –1:
  • For the fourth consecutive month, Spain displayed a stable consumer confidence. However, the components suggest some underlying changes. Spending intentions (17 points) remain as the only positive component despite a small drop, compensating for negative views of economic expectations (which improved to –32 points in October from –39 points in September), financial expectations (–1 point, approaching neutral territory), and financial situation (–8 points). This component fell by 3.3 points from September and it is at its lowest level in 29 months (since March 2024).

Among all Euro Area economies, only four saw consumer confidence improve—Czechia, Luxembourg, Slovakia, and Spain—while the largest drops were seen in Sweden (–92 points), France (–64), Finland (–62), and Belgium (–54).

Consumer Confidence ranking, October 2026

Note: The index is calculated based on the average of the standardized balances of questions Q1, Q2, Q4, and Q9 of the European Commission’s consumer confidence survey (see Technical Note for more details).

Source: The Conference Board, based on the consumer confidence survey from the European Commission, 2026.

Technical Note

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index® for the Euro Area is calculated using four questions from the European Commission’s consumer confidence survey:

• Q1: Financial situation over the past 12 months
• Q2: Expected financial situation over the next 12 months
• Q4: Expected general economic situation over the next 12 months
• Q9: Major purchase intentions over the next 12 months

Each component is standardized using historical distributions and equally weighted in constructing the overall index. Positive values indicate confidence above the long-term average, while negative values indicate below-average sentiment. Country-level survey results are weighted by each country’s share of Euro Area private consumption before aggregation into the composite Euro Area index.

The monthly Europe Consumer Confidence Survey® is based on data from the European Commission consumer survey program.

For further information: Contact Harry Miskin (hmiskin@tcb.org)

THE CONFERENCE BOARD is the Member-driven think tank that delivers Trusted Insights for What's Ahead^®®. Founded in 1916, we are a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization. TCB.org  l  Learn about Membership

© 2026 The Conference Board, Inc.