Eurozone recovery holds up despite debt crisis

LONDON: A survey from the European Commission shows that economic sentiment in the 16 nations that use the euro improved in November despite mounting concerns about the debt load of a number of member countries, most notably Ireland.

The European Commission says Monday that its economic sentiment indicator for the eurozone rose to 105.3 from October's 103.8.

The increase was bigger than expected. The consensus in the markets was for a more modest rise to 105.

The survey will fuel hopes that the recovery in the eurozone is on a fairly sound footing despite the debt crisis gripping the single currency zone.

On Sunday, Ireland became the second eurozone country after Greece to be bailed out by its partners in Europe and the International Monetary Fund.