Economic sentiment falls to historically low levels in both the EU and the euro area

Article created on 27 November 2008

It fell by 6.7 points in the EU and by 5.1 points in the euro area, to 70.5 and 74.9, respectively. This puts the ESI for the EU at its lowest since January 1985, and that for the euro area at its lowest since August 1993.

In both the EU and the euro area, the decline in the overall ESI reflects a general decrease in sentiment. The industrial confidence indicator fell significantly again in both regions. The services confidence indicator marks a new record-low level for both regions since the introduction of the survey twelve years ago. Consumer confidence declined only marginally, but remains at very low levels compared to its average value. Sentiment in the retail sector declined further in the EU, but remained the same in the euro area, while the construction confidence indicator dropped markedly - by 4 points in both regions.