Eurozone Economic Sentiment Indicator dropped -0.2 to 106.1 in February, slightly above expectation of 106.0. The broadly unchanged reading resulted from “weaker industry and construction confidence in combination with more upbeat signals from the services sector, as well as, to a lesser extent, retail trade and consumers”. Meanwhile the ESI dropped in Franc (-0.9%) and Italy (-1.6), practically flat in Germany (-0.1) and Spain (0.0), but improved in the Netherlands (+3.0).
Eurozone Business Climate Indicator is flat at 0.69 in February, slightly above expectation of 0.67. Eurostats noted “Managers’ production expectations, as well as their assessments of the stocks of finished products, overall- and export order books clouded over. Meanwhile, the appraisals of past production rebounded from last month’s sharp drop.”