Euro Area: Economic sentiment worsens in February
Latest reading: Economic sentiment dropped to 98.3 in February, following January’s 99.3. The latest reading was below the long-term average of 100, pointing to a muted near-term outlook for the economy.
In February, sentiment worsened in the industrial sector (-7.1 vs -6.8 in January), the construction sector (-2.1 vs -1.3 in January) and the services sector (+5.0 vs +6.8 in January). However, sentiment improved in the retail sector (-4.5 vs -5.7 in January) and among consumers (-12.2 vs -12.4 in January).Still, in terms of specific countries, sentiment was healthier across all major euro area economies, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.