Euro Area: Economic sentiment keeps recovering but remains abysmal in June
Sentiment in the Eurozone recovered further ground in June from May, although it remained far from February’s pre-crisis level. It rose from 67.5 points in May to 75.7. points in June. That said, sentiment in the Eurozone remained deeply entrenched below its long-run average of 100 points.
June’s increase came on the back of recovering sentiment across all industries and among consumers. Moreover, financial services confidence also picked up. Confidence in the services and retail sales sectors grew the most, while gains in sentiment in the construction and industry sectors were more limited. A notable increase in employment expectations was recorded across all surveyed sectors.
Among the largest economies of the Euro Area, sentiment strengthened notably France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, while in Germany it also recovered significantly, although to a lesser extent.
Commenting on the release, Bert Colijn, Eurozone senior economist at ING, stated:
“That output would surge at the end of the lockdowns was almost inevitable, but the large question from here on is: how much lasting damage has been done? That will determine how quickly the economy will be back at pre-lockdown levels. Today’s ESI provides some hope […], but the road to recovery remains very long.”