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EU retail sales and mood fall further in May
BUSINESS confidence plummeted across Europe’s major economies in May, European Commission (EC) data showed yesterday, while retail sales kept dropping and lending to firms slowed.
Economic sentiment dropped 2.3 points to 90.6 in the Eurozone, the EC index revealed, falling 4.3 points in Italy, 3.9 in the Netherlands and 1.5 per cent in France.
That fall was mirrored in Markit’s retail sector purchasing managers’ index (PMI) which came in at 43.3, indicating a sharp fall in activity in the sector.