ZURICH (MaceNews) – Sentiment in the Euro-area showed a marked improvement in April, driven by an all-time high for industrial sentiment, and is now above the pre-pandemic level for the first time, according to the latest European Commission report.
The Economic Sentiment Index (ESI) rose to 110.3 in April, resoundingly above the 103.0 median forecast of Econoday survey of economic forecasts, and above the revised March result of 100.9 (101.0).
Industrial confidence rose to an all-time high in April to 10.7 from a revised 2.1 (2.0) in March, beating the Econoday median of 4.3.
“The improvement was thanks to very positive developments in all its components, i.e., managers’ production expectations, their assessments of the current level of overall order books and of the stocks of finished products. The production expectations reached their best reading on record, while stocks were considered as scarce as never before,” the Commission said.
Consumer sentiment improved for a third consecutive month in April, rising to -8.1 from -10.8 in March, with the result matching the Econoday survey median.
“Households’ expectations improved both in respect of the general economic situation in their country and their personal sphere, as measured by their future financial situation and their intentions to make major purchases,” the report said.
The employment outlook also improved with all business sectors more optimistic, rising above the long-term average for the first time since February 2020 to 107.1 in April from 97.8 in March.
The six largest Eurozone economies all reported improved economic sentiment with the results above the long-term average. Poland led gains with an increase of 11.3 points followed by the Netherlands (+10.7), Spain (+9.1), France (+8.5), Germany (+5.7) and Italy (+5.3).
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