Finland's Consumer Confidence Fell in October as Shares Plunged

By Kati Pohjanpalo

Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Finnish consumer confidence plummeted to the lowest level in at least thirteen years in October as the global credit crisis deepened and stock markets plunged.

The consumer confidence index fell to minus 0.2 from 8.1 in September and 17.30 a year earlier, Helsinki-based Statistics Finland said in a statement on its Web site today. The measure was expected to drop to 7.5 according to the median estimate of three economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

The European Central Bank on Oct. 8 cut its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to 3.75 percent in a coordinated move with the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and other central banks as global markets fell.

Since then, European nations have set aside more than 1.3 trillion euros ($1.64 trillion) to protect financial institutions by guaranteeing bank loans and taking stakes in lenders. Finland's OMX Helsinki 25 Index has slid 50 percent this year.

Finland's economy may grow between 1 percent and 1.5 percent next year, Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen said last week. That's less than the Finance Ministry Aug. 27 estimate for growth of 1.8 percent for 2009.

The business confidence index fell to minus 14 this month from a revised minus 12 in September, a separate survey by the Helsinki-based Confederation of Finnish Industries, or EK, showed today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kati Pohjanpalo in Helsinki at kpohjanpalo@bloomberg.net