(adds German retailer group interview, US consumer confidence)
By Gavin Jones
ROME, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Consumer morale and spending data around Europe on Tuesday showed some unexpected resilience, suggesting shoppers' gloom about the economic downturn is being tempered by the steep fall in inflation.
Consumer spending in France, the euro zone's second largest economy, unexpectedly rose in November and consumer confidence edged up in the Netherlands, albeit at historically low levels.
Such data does not point to buoyant consumer demand by any means. But it confirms previous signs that shopper morale is holding up better than among businesses, where activity and confidence indicators have plunged from one record low to the next amid the global financial turmoil.
"It's a figure that rather confirms the relatively good state of French consumption at the end of the year," BNP Paribas analyst Dominique Barbet said of the 0.3 percent increase in November consumer spending, up 1.0 percent from the year before.
"Consumer spending is the only thing that's holding up amid the crisis, because everything else is going down," said Alexander Law, chief economist at Xerfi.
Dutch consumer sentiment rose slightly in December to -28 from -29, moving further away from a five-year low of -31 posted in July, with analysts attributing the resilience to the sharp drop in pump petrol prices.
In Italy, the euro zone's third largest economy, where Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi frequently appeals to citizens to keep shopping, consumer morale slipped for a third month in December on fears about jobs, the ISAE institute reported.
However, as in the Netherlands, it remains above the levels seen during the galloping inflation over the summer and recent falls have been far more limited than those seen in ISAE's corresponding business survey.
"The length and duration of the recession is in the hands of citizens," Berlusconi said on Saturday, arguing that workers with job security, especially in the public sector, had every reason to spend more rather than less, due to falling prices.
JOB LOSSES
Many analysts expect consumer morale to spiral sharply downwards as job losses gather speed and offset the positive wealth effect which the dive in inflation has produced.
So far this has not happened, and on Tuesday the United States also reported a bounce in shopper sentiment this month due to declining prices.
Consumer spending makes up around two-thirds of euro zone gross domestic product and there is little doubt that whether or not it collapses will, as Berlusconi suggests, determine how long and deep the recession proves to be.
Messages remain rather mixed. In Germany, by far the largest economy in the 15-nation bloc, retail association HDE on Tuesday reported solid demand during the Christmas shopping season and said sales could exceed last year's level. Revenues should also hold up through the first half of 2009, a spokesman told Reuters in an interview.
However, retailers in much smaller Finland slashed their Christmas sales forecast on Tuesday to zero growth compared with a year ago, from a forecast of 2 percent growth made only last week.
"Even though the majority of consumers have more disposable income than last year, shoppers are wary as they hear negative economic news nearly every day," the SKL association said.
Outside the euro zone, British retailers got some rare upbeat news amid what looks like a grim Christmas season when market researcher Experian reported shopper numbers were up 13.6 percent on Monday compared with the same Monday of 2007, which was Christmas Eve.
"This strong performance follows seven weeks of negative performance, so this final rally by consumers will be welcome relief for most retailers, but not enough to save the season for some of them," Experian reported.