Consumer confidence in the eurozone dropped sharply last month, according to figures released on Tuesday by the European Commission.

The commission’s index monitoring countries with the euro went down to -16.6 points in August, compared to -11.2 points in July.

But the picture was even bleaker when other European Union countries outside the eurozone were included. The overall EU index showed a low -16.8 points in August; in July, it measured -12.4.

Factors like the incessant public squabbling between the bloc’s member states, the sluggish pace at which crisis-fighting decisions were taken and the debt mountains in Greece, Portugal and Ireland have contributed to consumer confidence erosion.

Last week’s news that Europe's largest economy, Germany, had grown a meagre 0.1 percent in the second quarter also has major implications for the broader euro area.

(jn)

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