Economic confidence in the eurozone improved in March with a scale of growth that was the fastest since its steep recovery last summer after the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, survey data from the European Commission showed on Tuesday.
The economic sentiment index for the currency union jumped to 101.0 in March from 93.4 in the previous month. The score was above economists’ forecast of 96.0 and was also the highest since February 2020.
However, sentiment was below its pre-pandemic level and, with virus restrictions now in place for longer, a sustained rise in the coming months seems unlikely, said Jessica Hinds, an economist at Capital Economics.
Meanwhile in the US, consumer confidence during March jumped to its highest level since the pandemic began, spurred by hopes of a strong economic recovery.
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index leaped to a one-year high of 109.7, up from 90.4 in February exceeding economists’ expectations for a reading of 96.0.
The upswing in consumer confidence suggests that the accelerated US vaccine rollout is lifting consumers’ morale, alongside the latest stimulus package, which included $1,400 cheques for Americans.
“Consumers’ assessment of current conditions and their short-term outlook improved significantly, an indication that economic growth is likely to strengthen further in the coming months,” said Lynn Franco, senior director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board.
Finally, the UK economy grew more than previously estimated in the fourth quarter of the pandemic year, but the overall contraction for the whole year of 2020 was the biggest on record, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Wednesday. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 1.3 per cent in the three months to end December from the previous three-month period, the ONS said. Economists had expected the growth rate to remain at the ONS’s preliminary one per cent estimate.
The figures also revealed the biggest pile of household savings on record last year, which the Bank of England thinks will stoke a recovery when COVID restrictions are lifted.
This report was compiled by Bank of Valletta for general information purposes only.