Eurozone economic morale continues weakening in March

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) - Economic confidence in the euro area continued weakening for the second straight month in March, the European Commission said on Thursday.

The economic sentiment indicator (ESI) dropped in both the EU and the euro area by 0.3 points from last month to 97.4 and 99.3, respectively.

The downward movement in the figure stemmed from slightly lower confidence in the industry, retail trade, and construction.

Sentiment in services and among consumers remained virtually unchanged.

Among the largest EU economies, the ESI increased in Italy (up 2 points), the Netherlands (up 0.9) and France (up 0.7), while it remained broadly unchanged in Poland (up 0.3), Spain (up 0.1), and Germany (down 0.1)

The consumer confidence indicator in the Eurozone edged down to minus 19.2 in March, down 0.1 from a year high of minus 19.0 in February.

Consumer confidence in the EU also ended its fifth consecutive month of improvement, falling 0.1 from a month ago.

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.