Economic sentiment improves in euro-zone, EU

The economic sentiment continued the upward trend in January in both the euro-zone and the whole European Union (EU), said the European Commission, the executive body of the EU, on Tuesday.

The economic sentiment index improved by a robust 1.2 points in the euro-zone and 1.3 points EU-wide.

For the euro-zone, the indicator -- 101.8 points against a long- term average of 100 -- is now at the highest level since the summer of 2001.

In sector breakdown, the industry, services and construction sectors improved while confidence among consumers and in the retail sector remained unchanged in the euro-zone.

EU-wide, a growth of confidence was registered in the services, retail and construction sectors, while in industry and among consumers, the level of confidence remained unchanged.

Neither the euro-zone nor the whole EU witnessed a fall in confidence in any of the sectors. This strengthens the expectation that the upward trend will continue in the coming months, said the commission.

At country level, the picture is mixed. Germany, Italy and Poland showed an improvement in confidence, with Poland reaching an all-time high. In Germany, the headline indicator improved by almost 3 points and is now above its long-term average of 100 for the first time since May 2001. While the French indicator remained unchanged, Spain and Britain saw a drop in confidence. The decrease in Britain was the fourth consecutive fall.

Source: Xinhua