Euro zone consumer confidence falls in March

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone consumer confidence defied market expectations of an improvement and fell in March, a flash estimate by the European Commission showed on Monday.

The Commission said consumer confidence in the 19 countries sharing the euro fell 0.9 points to -9.7 in March against February and was 0.7 points lower at -7.3 in the wider, 28-nation European Union.

(Reporting By Jan Strupczewski; editing by Barbara Lewis)