Brussels, 07/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - The Economic Sentiment Indicator improved in the eurozone and the EU as a whole in December, the European Commission announced in a press release on Thursday 7 January.
According to its figures, this indicator was up by 0.7 percentage points to 106.8 in the eurozone, led by greater confidence in the industrial sector, partly offset by a drop in confidence in the retail sector. Confidence remains overall stable in the service sector, the construction sector and among consumers. As regards the largest economies of the eurozone, the indicator was up in Spain (+3.4), up slightly in Italy (+0.4) and remained stable in Germany (+0) and France (-0.1). The Economic Sentiment Indicator fell in the Netherlands, on the other hand (-2.4).
Outside the eurozone, the United Kingdom saw the greatest improvement in the economic climate (+2.9), whereas this slipped in Poland (-1). Sectorial developments in the EU differ from those of the eurozone as regards confidence in the service sector, among consumers and in construction. This was up, whilst it remains stable in the eurozone. Confidence in the financial services sector remained stable throughout the EU. The Commission has also published the results of the Business Climate Indicator for the eurozone, which was also slightly improved (by 0.05 points). (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)