Euro Area: Economic sentiment drops in December
Latest reading: Economic sentiment fell to 96.7 in December, following November’s 97.0. As a result, the index remained below the long-term average of 100, pointing to a muted near-term outlook for the economy.
In December, sentiment deteriorated in the services sector (+5.6 vs +5.8 in November), the retail sector (-6.9 vs -5.7 in November) and among consumers (-12.8 vs -13.1 in November). That said, sentiment improved in the industrial sector (-9.0 vs -9.3 in November) and the construction sector (-1.3 vs -1.6 in November).
In terms of specific countries, sentiment worsened in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, while it improved in the Netherlands.