Eurozone Economic Confidence Rises Unexpectedly

(RTTNews) - Eurozone economic confidence rose unexpectedly in November on improving sentiment among industrial managers and retailers, survey results from the European Commission revealed on Thursday.

The economic confidence index rose slightly to 95.8 in November from revised 95.7 in the previous month. The score was expected to fall to 95.1 from October's initially estimated value of 95.6.

The index registered only a marginal improvement in November as higher confidence in industry and retail trade was offset by lower confidence in services and among consumers.

Industrial confidence recovered some of its lost ground from previous two months. The corresponding index improved to -11.1 from -12.6 a month ago. The expected score was -13.2.

Retail trade confidence strengthened as views on changes in the past business situation improved considerably. The retail trade confidence declined to -4.4 from -7.2 a month ago.

Services confidence worsened in November due to a broad-based deterioration in the assessment of all three components. The indicator registered 5.3 compared to 6.8 in October. Economists had forecast the index to drop moderately to 6.2.

Likewise, the consumer sentiment index dropped to -13.7 in November from -12.5 in the prior month. The reading matched the flash estimate.

At the same time, the construction sentiment index remained unchanged at -4.8 in November.

Further, data showed that the Employment Expectations Indicator eased for the second consecutive month. The index slid to 98.9 from 99.2 in October.