After a small setback in December, the economic sentiment indicator (ESI) for the EU regained its upward trend that had started in summer of last year.
The indicator increased by 0.4 percentage points to a level of 96.6, the highest value since summer 2001. For the euro area, the indicator also rose, although by a more moderate 0.2 points, reaching a level of 95.81.
The improvement of the ESI for the EU is reflected in all underlying components. In the industry sector, business confidence resumed the upward trend observed in the second half of 2003.
Consumer confidence continued its slow but steady improvement since April 2003. The construction sector showed a small rise in confidence, continuing the tendency from the previous 3 months. Finally, confidence in retail trade made up some of the losses incurred at the end of 2003.
The improvement of the overall economic climate could be observed in most member countries, with only Denmark, Spain and Luxembourg seeing a (small) setback. Among the countries that saw an improvement, the rise in confidence in Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal and the UK is noteworthy.
Economic sentiment regains its upward trend in both the EU and the euro area
notíCIas_pt
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30-01-2004 05:18
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