BRUSSELS, GERMANY - OVERALL confidence in the European economy slumped in October to the lowest level since 1993 in the face of the worst financial crisis in generations, an EU survey signalled on Thursday.

Following in the path of other recent weak data, the European Commission's eurozone economic sentiment indicator, including consumer confidence, fell to 80.4 points in October from 87.5 points in September.

The drop, the sharpest one month decline since the survey started in January 1985, exceeded by a wide margin economists forecasts for a fall to 85.3 points, as polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

Overall confidence in the economy of the broader 27-nation European Union also fell to its lowest level since 1993, tumbling to 77.5 points in October from 84.9 in September.

The drop in confidence was widespread across Europe and various sectors, with consumer sentiment falling particularly sharply, according to the commission. Confidence in the beaten-down construction sector also extremely weak.

Evidence of slumping economic sentiment in Europe comes on the heels of US survey on Tuesday that showed consumer confidence in the world's biggest economy at the lowest level on record.

The European Commission's separate monthly business climate indicator for the eurozone retreated to the lowest level since 2001, dropping to a negative 1.34 points in October from a negative 0.82 in September.