Brussels, 30/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - European Commission statistics published on Thursday 30 August show that the economic sentiment indicator (ESI) decreased markedly by 2.0 points in the EU (to 87 points) and by 1.8 points (to 86.1 points) in the eurozone, while the business climate indicator (BCI) for the euro area edged up by 0.06 points to -1.21 points (compared with -1.27 in July), a level which remains below that of June (-0.95).
In both areas, the loss of confidence was particularly clear among consumers (-2.5 points in the EU and -3.1 in the eurozone), but also in the retail trade (-3.2 and -2.3, with improved forecasts) and in the construction sector (-3.0 and -4.6). The index remains stable, however, in industry within the euro area (-0.2), but declines for the EU as a whole (-1.7). This decline in economic sentiment, mainly due to the fear of unemployment and a decline in the general economic situation among consumers, but also due to the gloomy forecasts for production and the business climate among companies in general can be seen in most member states and especially in Spain (-4.9%), the United Kingdom (-3.1), Italy (-2.4), Poland (-1.8) and Germany (-1.0), while the indicator has improved in France (+0.4) and the Netherlands (+0.6).
The BCI's improvement in August within the euro area (see above) gives a contrasting picture. It is the result of an improvement in managers' assessment of past production, export order books and the adequacy of stocks of finished products. By contrast, managers' production expectations and their assessment of overall order books remain pessimistic. (FG/transl.jl)