The employment expectations indicator (EEI) also declined in both: by 1 pp in the EU to 98.4 and by 1.4 pps in euro area to 97.3. Both indicators scored below their long-term average of 100.
The economic sentiment indicator dropped in the EU by 1.7 pps to 94.5 and by 1.9 pps in the euro area to 93.7 in December 2024, the European Commission’s Directorate‑General for Economic and Financial Affairs said.
The employment expectations indicator also fell in both: by 1 pp in the EU to 98.4 and by 1.4 pps in euro area to 97.3.
Confidence in retail trade remained broadly stable across the EU.
In December 2024, the flash estimate of the consumer confidence indicator fell by 1 percentage point (pp) in the EU and by 0.7 pp in the euro area. Consumer confidence descended for the second month in a row in both the zones, moving further below its long-term average.
The decline in the ESI in the EU was driven by lower confidence in industry, construction and among consumers, partially offset by an increase in services confidence.
Confidence in retail trade remained broadly stable across the EU. For the largest EU economies, the ESI declined markedly in France (minus 3), Germany (minus 2.5) and Italy (minus 1.1), while it improved in Spain (plus 0.9). Confidence was broadly unchanged in Poland (plus 0.1) and the Netherlands (minus 0.2).
Industry confidence fell back in December (minus 2.2) in the EU, reflecting a significant decline across all three components, i.e. managers’ production expectations and their assessments of the current level of order books and the stocks of finished products.
EU managers were markedly more pessimistic about recent changes in past production, while their views on export order books showed a slight improvement, an official press release said.
Retail trade confidence remained broadly stable in the EU (plus 0.1). Retailers in the bloc reported improved business expectations for the next three months and slightly more favourable assessments of the volume of stocks. However, these gains were mostly offset by deteriorated views on the past business situation.
The employment expectations indicator (minus 1) in the EU fell further below its long-term average level, reflecting a deterioration in employment plans across industry, services and construction managers, partially offset by a slight improvement in the retail trade sector.
EU consumers’ unemployment expectations, which are not included in the headline indicator, worsened markedly.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
