According to the final report from the European Commission, consumer confidence in the eurozone deteriorated slightly in August, recording the first decline in 7 months.
The consumer confidence index fell to -13.5 points compared to -13.0 points in July. Economists had expected a decline to -13.4 points. Meanwhile, the economic sentiment indicator rose by 0.6 points to 96.0 points. Consensus estimates suggested a drop to 95.8. The employment expectations indicator increased to 99.2 from 97.9 in July.
As for the EU countries, the economic sentiment indicator rose by 0.4 points to 96.9 points, and the employment expectations indicator increased by 0.9 points to 99.6 points. The increase in the economic sentiment indicator reflected improved confidence in industry, services and retail trade, while confidence among consumers and in construction remained broadly stable. For the largest EU economies, the ESI improved strikingly for France (+4.3). It also improved significantly for Spain (+1.3) and the Netherlands (+0.9), while for Poland the ESI recorded only a slight increase (+0.3). The ESI deteriorated for Germany (-1.7) and Italy (-1.2).
The data also showed that the indicator of economic uncertainty fell in August to 16.6 from 17.1 in July. Managers’ uncertainty about their future business situation decreased in industry and remained stable in retail, while it increased in construction and, to a lesser extent, in services. Consumers’ uncertainty about their future financial situation decreased marginally.