2018.09.2705:33:00UTC+00Eurozone Economic Sentiment Falls In September

Eurozone economic confidence weakened further in September, survey data from European Commission showed Thursday.

The economic sentiment index dropped to 110.9 in September from 111.6 in August. The score was forecast to fall to 111.2.

The decrease in sentiment resulted from lower confidence levels in the industry sector and among consumers, which were only partly offset by increases in the retail trade and construction sectors.

The industrial confidence index slid to 4.7 from 5.6 in August. The decline resulted from a marked decrease in managers' production expectations and a smaller worsening of their assessment of the stocks of finished products.

Similarly, the consumer sentiment index declined to -2.9, in line with flash estimate, from -1.9 a month ago. The decrease reflected a broad-based deterioration in all its components.

The rise in retail trade confidence index to 2.7 from 1.9 was driven by more positive views on the present business situation and the adequacy of the volume of stocks.

The marked increase in construction confidence to 8.3 from 6.4 resulted from a substantial improvement in managers' assessment of the level of order books and a moderate increase in their employment expectations.

Another report from EU showed that the business climate index remained unchanged at +1.21 in September. Managers' production expectations as well as their views on the stocks of finished products worsened in September.

By contrast, managers' appraisals of their overall order books, past production and export order books improved slightly.