Eurozone consumer confidence is coming off the boil
Consumer confidence in the Eurozone edged further down this month, according to survey figures released today by the European Commission (EC).
The EC's monthly barometer of consumer confidence slipped 0.6 points to a "flash" score of minus 7.7. Flash scores are estimates made before all the data has been collated. Despite the drop, confidence levels remain high compared with its levels between 2008 and 2014 – it has fallen slightly below it's 2014 peak. It hit its highest level since 2007 at the beginning of this year.
The Eurozone's economy has maintained a steady recovery this year after nearly entering a third recession in five years in 2014.
Economists have said that consumers in the Eurozone should be buoyed by low inflation this year. While inflation has been under the two per cent target for a few years, this year it has been dragged down by falls in the price of oil and other commodities.
Jack Allen, European economist at Capital Economics, said:
Looking ahead, economic conditions are broadly supportive of consumer confidence. The EC index measures consumers’ optimism about their own financial and employment prospects, as well as the wider economic outlook, over the next twelve months. The slow but steady labour market recovery, along with low inflation, should support households’ real spending power. And low interest rates on household borrowing are likely to persist, keeping debt service costs down.