–Uses January Level Corrected By The European Commission
PARIS (MNI) – Contrary to most forecasts, Eurozone consumer morale
recovered slightly in January, according to the European Commission’s
preliminary estimate released Monday.
After an 11.6-point slide since June to -21.3 in December (revised
down from -21.1), the sentiment indicator regained 0.7 point in January
to -20.6, remaining eight points below the long-term average.
Most analysts surveyed by Market News International had expected a
monthly decline of at least 0.4 point, while a few hoped for a modest
recovery.
Last month’s flash estimate for a 0.8-point decline in December was
revised down 0.1 point in the definitive data. While households were
somewhat less worried about future economic trends, they feared the
labor market would weaken more and expected the deterioration in their
personal financial situation to continue. Future buying-propensity
remained well below average and households said they were cutting back
more on major purchases at present.
The final sentiment figure for January, along with the other
components of the Commission’s comprehensive sentiment survey, should be
released next week.
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