Eurozone Economic Sentiment Drops in April Due to Ukraine War
By Maria Martinez
Confidence among the eurozone’s consumers and businesses fell in April due to rising inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The European Commission said Monday that its economic sentiment indicator–an aggregate measure of business and consumer confidence–declined to 105.0 in April from 106.7 in March. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected the index to come in at 108.0.
The decline was mainly due to worsening confidence in industry, retail trade, construction, and among consumers, while the confidence indicator remained broadly unchanged in services, the data show.
Sentiment also fell sharply in Spain and France, although to lesser extents. Confidence remained broadly stable in Germany, while it improved in Italy.
The employment expectations indicator decreased further in April, due to worsened employment plans for the next three months in all four business…
