Germany leads the way as EC’s indicator jumps to 103.2
By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Economic sentiment across the 16-nation euro zone continued to improve in September, led higher by increasingly upbeat assessments in Germany, according to the European Commission’s monthly survey released Wednesday.
The economic sentiment indicator for the euro zone rose to 103.2 from an upwardly revised reading of 102.3 in August. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a slip in the index to 101.5.
“On the face of it, the index is now consistent with quarterly gains in GDP of around 0.6%. However on closer inspection, the ESI appears to slightly lag quarterly GDP growth. As such, we suspect Q3 growth will come in lower,” said Martin van Vliet, economist at ING Bank in Brussels.
The euro (EURUSD 1.3605, +0.0028, +0.2062%) remained up 0.1% versus the dollar at $1.3588.
The survey’s industry index rose to -2 in September from -3 in August, while the services index rose a point to 8.
The consumer index was unchanged at -11, while the retail index rose to -1 from -3 in August. The construction index rose three points to -26.
Germany was the biggest driver in the rise, with the country’s sentiment index rising two points to 113.2.
Outside the euro zone, the sentiment indicator for Britain fell to 100.2 from 102.3 in August, with the nation’s consumer index falling four points to -17.
