Euro Area: Economic sentiment improves in January
Latest reading: Economic sentiment rose to 99.4 in January, following December’s 97.2. Still, the index remained below the long-term average of 100, pointing to a muted near-term outlook for the economy.
In January, sentiment improved in the services sector (+7.2 vs +5.8 in December), the industrial sector (-8.5 vs -6.8 in December), the retail sector (-5.7 vs -6.6 in December) and among consumers (-13.2 vs -12.4 in December). That said, sentiment in the construction sector remained unchanged (-0.9 vs -0.9 in December).
In terms of specific countries, sentiment was healthier across all major euro area economies, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.