More positive economic outlook in EU - by Vanessa Macdonald
In July, the Economic Sentiment Indicator for the EU and the euro area improved further, registering the 4th consecutive increase in both series since the trough in March. However, in both areas, the level is still far below the long-term average. The ESI increased by 3.9 points in the EU, and by 2.8 points in the euro area, to 75.0 and 76.0 respectively, the European Commission said. Recovery of the industrial confidence indicator continued, backed by a further improvement in production expectations and normalization in the level of stocks. After a more than year-long slide, manufacturers' order books finally showed some improvement. Still, both stocks of finished goods and production expectations remain below their long-term averages; more importantly, industrial activity remains weak,as manifested by the all-time low level of capacity utilization.
The majority of the member states registered an improvement - including Malta. Among the largest member states, the UK(+5.0 points), Spain (+3.9), Italy (+3.5) and Germany(+3.2) recorded significant increases in sentiment, while the rise was marginal in France (+0.3), the Netherlands (+0.2) and Poland (+0.1).
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