Euro Area: Economic sentiment down in May
Sentiment in the Eurozone fell to 96.5 in May from 99.0 in April. Consequently, the index remained entrenched below its long-run average of 100, signaling persistent albeit moderate pessimism.
Sentiment in the services, retail and industry sectors decreased. Additionally, employment expectations weakened. That said, consumer confidence gained some ground. Meanwhile selling price expectations eased in all sectors.
In terms of specific countries, sentiment declined in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain while it rose in France.
Commenting on the release, Bert Colijn, senior economist at ING, stated:
“Data on the eurozone’s economic performance have been a mixed bag recently. While original data on the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of 2023 came in quite positive, recent German revisions make it very likely that the eurozone was in fact in a mild recession over the winter. Recent survey data had been decent, but we nevertheless do not expect more than a very modest recovery of growth in the second quarter.”