According to the final report from the European Commission, consumer confidence in the eurozone declined moderately in March, ending a two-month rise and returning to its lowest level since December 2024.
The consumer confidence index fell to -14.5 points compared to -13.6 points in February. The latest figure was in line with the preliminary estimate and economists' forecasts. Meanwhile, the economic sentiment indicator fell to 95.2 points from 96.3 points in February. Consensus estimates suggested an increase to 97.0. The employment expectations indicator fell by 0.7 points to 96.7 points.
As for the EU countries, the economic sentiment indicator decreased by 0.9 points to 96.0 points, and the employment expectations indicator reached 97.7 points (-0.7 points). The decline in the economic sentiment indicator was driven by lower confidence in services, retail trade and among consumers. Confidence in industry remained broadly stable and construction confidence was unchanged. For the largest EU economies, the economic sentiment indicator declined significantly in France (-2.1) and Italy (-2.0), while it improved in Spain (+1.1). Confidence edged up in Germany (+0.3) and Poland (+0.2) and remained unchanged in the Netherlands.
The data also showed that the indicator of economic uncertainty fell by 0.5 points in March, to 17.3 points. Managers’ uncertainty about their future business situation decreased considerably in construction, and more moderately in industry and services. These improvements were partially offset by higher uncertainty among managers in retail trade. Consumers’ uncertainty about their future financial situation rose noticeably in March, after four months of decline.