Euro Area’s economic sentiment surprisingly deteriorated in February, the latest data by the European Commission showed.
The economic sentiment indicator came in at a reading of 95.4 in February, down from 96.1 in the prior month and below market expectations of 96.7.
Sentiment was still subdued, as corporate entities and consumers looked to weather persistently high inflation, elevated interest rates and weak external demand.
Sentiment was weaker among manufacturers (-9.5 versus -9.3 in January), service providers (6.0 versus 8.4), retailers (-6.7 versus -5.6) and constructors (-5.4 versus -4.6 in January).
On the other hand, confidence improved a bit among consumers (-15.5 versus -16.1 in January).
The EUR/USD currency pair was last edging down 0.26% on the day to trade at 1.0815, with Euro Area’s inflation, US Core PCE data now in focus.