Economic confidence continues to improve in the euro area
Euro Zone economic confidence index was better than expected at 87.7 in August
Economic confidence in the Eurozone continued to increase and improve in August as companies benefited from the lifting of pandemic restrictions, from manufacturing to services.
The confidence index rose for the fourth month in a row and was higher than all but three of the predictions included in Bloomberg’s survey. The Index also showed that increases in industry and retail trade, especially services, continued. Employment prospects of companies have increased, but employment cuts in the region in recent months indicate that consumers are still worried about the labor market.
According to the data announced today in the Euro Zone, the economic confidence index realized at the level of 87.7. According to the median forecasts of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, this data was expected to be around 85. The data for the previous month was revised from 82.3 to 82.4.
Despite recent gains, optimism has not yet fully recovered. The headline index recovered nearly 60 percent of its March and April losses, and there are signs that the recovery in the region will be unstable and long.
Different data released on Friday showed that consumer spending in France increased less than expected in July and that the decline in retail sales in Spain continued.
