Economic sentiment drops again in EU and eurozone
In February, the Economic Sentiment Indicator for the EU and the eurozone continued to decline, according to a survey conducted by the European Commission's Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs. The indicator fell by 2.2 points in...
In February, the Economic Sentiment Indicator for the EU and the eurozone continued to decline, according to a survey conducted by the European Commission's Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs.
The indicator fell by 2.2 points in the EU, a much smaller fall than that recorded in January, and by 1.8 points in the eurozone, which in contrast was similar to the decline observed in January. The ESIs now stand at 61 and 65.4 respectively - the lowest levels since the current series of the indicator was launched in January 1985.
In Malta, confidence fell by 3.8 points, in contrast to January, when confidence actually rose by 1.9 points.
The fall in the ESI for both the EU and the eurozone can be attributed to a general decline in confidence in all sectors, except for the retail trade which slightly improved - by one point - in both areas. Industry (- 4 points in the EU and -3 in the eurozone) was the sector which saw the biggest decline.
The construction confidence indicator dropped by two points in both the EU and the eurozone. Both service and consumer sentiment dropped by one point in the EU and by one and two points respectively in the eurozone.
Overall, most member states recorded a fall in confidence. Among the large countries, confidence in Poland fell the most (-8.2 points), followed by The Netherlands (-6.7), the UK (-3.8) and Spain (-2.2). The confidence indicator fell less significantly in Germany (-1.2), France (-0.6) and Italy (-0.3).
Employment expectations fell sharply in both industry and services. Consistent with that, consumers' unemployment expectations increased significantly. After a decreasing trend observed since summer 2008, managers' selling price expectations as well as consumers' price expectations stabilised at very low levels.
The financial services confidence indicator - not included in the ESI - remained broadly unchanged in the EU and improved in the eurozone, although not enough to compensate for the significant drop registered in January in both areas. These results reflect a significant decrease in managers' assessments of both the business situation and the demand for their services over the past three months, whereas their expectation of demand over the next three months improved markedly.
The European Commission's Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs conducts regular harmonised surveys for different sectors of the economies in the EU and applicant countries. They are addressed to representatives of industry (manufacturing), services, retail trade and construction sectors, as well as to consumers. Such surveys allow comparisons among different countries' business cycles.
The indicator fell by 2.2 points in the EU, a much smaller fall than that recorded in January, and by 1.8 points in the eurozone, which in contrast was similar to the decline observed in January. The ESIs now stand at 61 and 65.4 respectively - the lowest levels since the current series of the indicator was launched in January 1985.
In Malta, confidence fell by 3.8 points, in contrast to January, when confidence actually rose by 1.9 points.
The fall in the ESI for both the EU and the eurozone can be attributed to a general decline in confidence in all sectors, except for the retail trade which slightly improved - by one point - in both areas. Industry (- 4 points in the EU and -3 in the eurozone) was the sector which saw the biggest decline.
The construction confidence indicator dropped by two points in both the EU and the eurozone. Both service and consumer sentiment dropped by one point in the EU and by one and two points respectively in the eurozone.
Overall, most member states recorded a fall in confidence. Among the large countries, confidence in Poland fell the most (-8.2 points), followed by The Netherlands (-6.7), the UK (-3.8) and Spain (-2.2). The confidence indicator fell less significantly in Germany (-1.2), France (-0.6) and Italy (-0.3).
Employment expectations fell sharply in both industry and services. Consistent with that, consumers' unemployment expectations increased significantly. After a decreasing trend observed since summer 2008, managers' selling price expectations as well as consumers' price expectations stabilised at very low levels.
The financial services confidence indicator - not included in the ESI - remained broadly unchanged in the EU and improved in the eurozone, although not enough to compensate for the significant drop registered in January in both areas. These results reflect a significant decrease in managers' assessments of both the business situation and the demand for their services over the past three months, whereas their expectation of demand over the next three months improved markedly.
The European Commission's Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs conducts regular harmonised surveys for different sectors of the economies in the EU and applicant countries. They are addressed to representatives of industry (manufacturing), services, retail trade and construction sectors, as well as to consumers. Such surveys allow comparisons among different countries' business cycles.