Berlin - The economic mood in Europe fell to a record low in December, key figures released Thursday showed, as the slump in the global economy gained momentum.

The European Commission said its closely watched economic sentiment indicator (ESI) for the 15-member eurozone fell from 74.9 in November to 67.1.

This was the indictor's lowest level since it was launched in 1985 and adds to the pressure on the European Central Bank (ECB) to continue cutting interest rates.

At the same time, figures released by the European Union's statistics office, Eurostat, showed seasonally-adjusted unemployment in the currency bloc climbing to 7.8 per cent in November from 7.7 per cent in October.

"In all, today's worse-than-expected economic data make an even more compelling case for the ECB to cut interest rates significantly further," said ING economist Martin van Vliet.

Slovakia's adoption of the euro as its national currency expanded the eurozone's membership to 16 on January 1.

The sharp fall in eurozone economic sentiment was led by a dramatic eight-point drop in confidence in the currency bloc's industrial sector to minus 33.

Confidence in the eurozone's services sector also dropped by five points to minus 17 with consumer confidence tumbling from minus 25 to minus 30.

The drop in consumer confidence was despite the recent fall in inflation with data released this week showing consumer prices in the eurozone plunging to 1.6 per cent in December, the lowest level in more than two years. (dpa)