Euro zone consumers more confident than have been for 16 years

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone consumer confidence jumped much more than expected to a 16-year high in June, a flash estimate showed on Thursday. The seasonally adjusted indicator rose to -1.3 points from -3.3 points in May, the highest reading since April 2001, when it was at -0.9. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a rise to only -3.0. In the wider European Union of 28 countries, the index rose 1.1 points to -2.2 compared to May. (Reporting By Jan Strupczewski Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)