Euro Area: Economic sentiment virtually unchanged in February
Sentiment in the Eurozone dipped to 99.7 in February from 99.8 in January. Consequently, the index remained entrenched below its long-run average of 100, signaling persistent albeit moderate pessimism.
Sentiment in the industry and services sectors dropped. Moreover, employment expectations lost some ground. Conversely, sentiment in the retail sales sector improved. Additionally, consumer sentiment recovered further ground, while selling price expectations eased in all sectors.
In terms of specific countries, sentiment declined in France and Spain, while it remained unchanged in Italy and strengthened in Germany and the Netherlands.
Commenting on the release, Bert Colijn, senior economist at ING, stated:
“The broad picture that remains is one that shows an economy still struggling with high inflation but profiting from fading supply-side problems. This leaves economic growth around stagnation for the winter months”.