Euro Area: Economic sentiment rises in August
Economic sentiment came in at 96.6 in August, up from July’s 96.0. Nonetheless, the index remained below the long-term average of 100, pointing to a muted near-term outlook for the economy.
The headline print reflected improving sentiment in the industrial, retail and services sectors. Less positively, sentiment in the construction sector and consumer confidence weakened in the surveyed month.
In terms of specific countries, sentiment rose in France, Spain and the Netherlands, while it worsened in Germany and Italy.
Relating to indicators that are not used to calculate the index, employment expectations weakened, while the economic uncertainty index fell in August.