Eurozone economic confidence continues recovery in June
Economic sentiment in the eurozone continued to recover in June following a modest pick-up in May, with improvements recorded across all sectors.
Overall sentiment rose to 75.7 points in June from 67.5 in May, still short of market expectations of 80.0 and well below the average of 100 since 2000, new European Commission data showed.
The index had crashed to its lowest level since measurements started in April as lockdowns closed large sectors of the bloc’s economy.
The eurozone’s largest economies — France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands — all individually registered increased economic confidence.
May’s pick-up was driven by increases in sentiment in eurozone industry and among consumers, while sentiment rose across all sectors in June, the data showed, with the sharpest rebounds recorded in retail trade and services.
Expectations about production, future demand or plans to make purchases drove the improvement recorded in June.
All sectors also viewed employment plans more favourably, with the indicator recovering between 40 and 60 per cent of the losses seen in March and April.
Economic data released last week suggested that the eurozone’s historic economic downturn slowed in June as lockdowns across the bloc were relaxed.
Private sector activity in the eurozone hit a four-month high this month, IHS Markit’s flash purchasing managers’ index showed, but economists warned that a V-shape recovery could soon run out of steam if unemployment rises or a second wave of coronavirus cases emerge.