Eurozone economic sentiment still in a rut - ING

The Eurozone economic sentiment indicator declined from 112.1 to 111.6 as global and local concerns dampen expectations about the second half of the year, according to Bert Colijn, Senior Economist at ING.

Key Quotes

“A cruising speed of 0.4% GDP growth looks like the best case scenario as global economic and political concerns cause Europeans to be less optimistic by the month.”

“The decline in business sentiment was broad-based with both industry and services experiencing declining sentiment in August. Even though a truce was reached in the trade dispute between the EU and US, concerns are far from over.”

“Service sector businesses are especially worried about future demand, while in manufacturing the new orders indicator reached their lowest level in 12 months.”

“Consumers saw confidence decline sharply in August from -0.5 to -1.9, mainly due to growing concerns about unemployment.”

“As economic confidence has been subsiding over the course of the year, so have expectations about GDP growth above 2%.”