The eurozone economy received a boost in December, as confidence among consumers and managers improved, indicating a potential recovery as the new year approaches.
According to data from the European Commission, the eurozone sentiment indicator, an aggregate measure of business and consumer confidence, rose to 96.4 in December, surpassing economists’ expectations of 94.0. This marks the third consecutive month of improvement, although it still remains below the long-term average of 100.
Consumer confidence also showed positive signs, with a rise from minus 16.9 in November to minus 15.0 in December, exceeding expectations. This is particularly noteworthy considering the gloomy retail landscape, which witnessed a decline in sales across the bloc during November.
Furthermore, confidence within the industrial sector of the bloc, which has faced challenges throughout the year, also experienced improvement. The confidence level increased to minus 9.2 from minus 9.5, outperforming expectations. Germany, the largest economy in the eurozone, reported a slight increase in new manufacturing orders for November. However, when excluding the more volatile large-scale orders, the overall trend remained negative.
These recent developments provide a glimmer of hope for the eurozone economy’s prospects in the upcoming year. It will be interesting to observe how this positive momentum unfolds and whether it will contribute to a sustained economic recovery.