Portugal: Consumer and business sentiment improve in April
Consumer sentiment shot up to minus 17.1 in April, above March’s minus 20.2 and logging the best reading in over a year. This was likely due to the ease of restrictions that began in mid-March, and lower Covid-19 cases and deaths. The uptick was largely due to households’ reduced pessimism regarding the future of the economy, as well a less negative view on past prices and the outlook for unemployment.
Meanwhile, the three-month moving average of the economic climate indicator came in at minus 0.5 in April, up from minus 1.1 in March, with companies of all sectors turning less gloomy in the month.