Eurozone shoppers in good spirits despite September dip in sentiment
Consumer confidence in the Eurozone has dipped this month to its second lowest level of the year, according to preliminary figures published by the European Commission (EC) yesterday.
The EC’s confidence indicator slipped 0.2 points to a score of minus 7.1. Despite the negative figure, confidence remains at levels consistent with spending growth and is above its long-term average of minus 13.
“Any dip in confidence is potentially worrying for Eurozone growth prospects as consumer spending has played a leading role in the region’s modest cyclical upturn,” said economist Howard Archer from analysts IHS.
“Consumer confidence across the Eurozone remains decent compared to long-term norms, while the fundamentals look reasonably solid for consumer spending in the Eurozone – so hopefully spending will hold up.”
The Eurozone economy has grown strongly this year compared with the last six years and low global oil and commodity prices are expected to boost the spending power of consumers’ pay packets. Employment has also been rising.