According to the final report from the European Commission, consumer confidence in the eurozone rose in May, confirming economists' forecasts and reaching its highest level since February 2022.
The consumer confidence index rose to -14.3 points, as expected, compared to -14.7 points in April. Meanwhile, the economic sentiment indicator rose to 96.0 from 95.6 in April. Consensus estimates suggested growth to 96.2. The employment expectations indicator fell to 101.3 from 101.6 in April.
As for the EU countries, the economic sentiment indicator rose to 96.5 points from 96.2 points, and the employment expectations indicator fell by 0.4 points to 101.2 points. The increase in the economic sentiment indicator reflected improved confidence in services and among consumers, which were curbed by declining confidence in retail trade and construction. Industry remained broadly stable. For the largest EU economies, the ESI improved significantly for France (+1.5) and the Netherlands (+1.1) and more moderately for Germany (+0.8) and Italy (+0.8), while it deteriorated markedly for Spain (-3.2) and Poland (-1.5).
The data also showed that the indicator of economic uncertainty fell in May to 17.7 from 18.1 in April. Managers’ uncertainty about their future business situation decreased in all sectors. Consumers’ uncertainty about their future financial situation was unchanged.