Economic confidence in the euro area remained largely unchanged in April compared to a month ago, the European Commission said on Thursday. The economic sentiment indicator (ESI) was stable at 97.3 in the EU and slightly up by 0.1 point to 99.3 in the eurozone.
The flat reading was due to markedly higher confidence among consumers and significantly lower confidence among industry managers. Among the largest EU economies, the ESI increased in Spain (3.7) and, to a lesser extent, in Poland (1.1), Germany (0.8) and Italy (0.3). It decreased in France (4.2) and the Netherlands (1.6). The eurozone/euro area (EA19) represents members that use the bloc’s single currency – the euro – while the EU (EU27) includes all of its member countries.— AA
