Sentiment in the Eurozone rose to 93.7 in November from 92.7 in October. However, the index remained entrenched below its long-run average of 100, signaling persistent pessimism.
Sentiment in the services and retail sales sectors improves somewhat. Moreover, employment expectations gained ground, while selling price expectations eased in all sectors. Additionally, consumer sentiment recovered further ground.
In terms of specific countries, sentiment improved in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, while it worsened in France and Spain.
Commenting on the print, Bert Colijn, senior economist at ING, stated:
“Overall, it looks like the current environment is one that is in line with a mild recession occurring. We often hear from the European Central Bank (ECB) that a mild recession is not enough to bring inflation down sustainably, but it is important to take this together with the easing supply side problems that the economy has faced recently.”
FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect fixed investment to expand 0.5% in 2023, which is down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast. For 2024, our panelists see fixed investment increasing 2.4%. FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect private consumption to expand 0.2% in 2023, which is down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast. For 2024, the panel expects private consumption to rise 1.5%.
