Berlin - The economic mood in Europe darkened as the year began, a key survey said Thursday, amid worries about the global outlook.

But the fall in the European Commission's closely watched economic sentiment indicator from 67.1 points in December to 68.9 points this month was less than forecast as hopes have risen of a pickup in the 16-member eurozone later in the year. Analysts had predicted a drop to 63 points.

The commission's latest sentiment survey came in the wake of key national economic surveys beating analysts' forecasts.

This included a surprise increase in Germany's key Ifo business confidence survey as well better-than-expected performances by consumer confidence indicators in both Germany and France, which are the eurozone's two biggest economies. (dpa)