PARIS (MNI) – Much as expected, Eurozone consumer morale stabilized
in June after marked fluctuations in recent months, the European
Commission said Wednesday, citing preliminary estimates.
After a full-point drop in April and a 1.7-point rebound in May,
the indicator slipped back 0.1 point in June, returning to February’s
level of -10.0, 2.5 points above the long-term average.
Most analysts polled by Market News International had expected
little change on the month, but were split on the direction. Forecasts
ranged from -13.0 to -9.5 with a median of -10.3.
The sharp recovery in sentiment last month came as a surprise.
Consumers noted a recovery in overall economic activity and were
significantly less pessimistic about medium-term economic trends and job
market prospects, the Commission’s survey showed.
The improvement in households’ assessment of recent and future
family finances was much more subdued, however. While they reported more
purchases of big-ticket items currently, their spending outlook dropped
for the third month in a row to a historical low. Fears of future
inflation receded somewhat for the second month in a row, while
remaining well above average.
The final confidence figure for June, along with the other
components of the Commission’s comprehensive sentiment survey, should be
released June 29.
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