Eurozone economic sentiment retreats from three-year high

(Sharecast News) - Economic confidence across the eurozone weakened slightly in February, pulling back from a three-year high, despite improvements among consumers and retailers, as sentiment fell in the industrial and services sectors. The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator slipped to 98.3 this month from 99.3 in January - its highest since January 2023.

The consensus forecast was for an improvement to 99.8, which was more or less in line with the index's historic average of 100.

The sentiment index among manufacturing firms fell to -7.1 from -6.8, while the service-sector measure dropped to 5.0 from 6.8 and the construction indicator slipped to -2.1 from -1.3.

In contrast, the downturn in retailer sentiment eased slightly to -4.5 from -5.7, while the consumer confidence indicator rose to -12.2 from -12.4.