Euro zone consumer confidence improves strongly in March

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Consumer confidence in the euro zone rose by much more than expected in March following a surprise fall in February, the European Commission said on Friday, adding momentum to the bloc's recovery.

The European Commission said in a flash estimate that euro zone consumer morale jumped to -9.3 points from -12.7 points in February, beating market expectations of an improvement to -12.4 points in March.

In the European Union as a whole, consumer sentiment also improved to -6.7 points from -9.3 points in February.

(Reporting by Martin Santa; editing by Robin Emmott)