EU economy gets back on track
Despite a turbulent summer of rising oil prices, crucial elections, and prolonged political disputes, the EU recorded a remarkable increase in economic activity.
The trading bloc's economic sentiment indicator (ESI) rose by a total of 1.7 points during August and September following a gain of 1.4 points in July. The Business Climate Indicator (BCI) for the euro area also improved in the same period. This has prompted analysts to say the EU's weak economic performance is now at an end.
The ESI indicates the level of economic activity in all members of the EU and combines assessments and expectations from business and consumer surveys. All the large countries enjoyed an increase in economic sentiment over the past two months, with Poland leading the way thanks to a staggering 8.2-point growth.
The EU says the upswing is thanks to a broad improvement across sectors, particularly in industry, retail trade and construction. Only services sector confidence saw a small dent in the euro area, while it remained steady in the EU. Consumer confidence remained unchanged in both areas.
In both the EU and the euro area, industrial confidence improved by one point in the period August/September, continuing the recovery that started in late spring. In both the EU and the euro area industry managers' production expectations and their assessment of order books picked up, by two points and one point, respectively.
Confidence in the EU for the services sector remained unchanged in both August and September.
Consumer confidence in both the EU and the euro area remained steady during August/September and while households' expectations concerning the general economic situation as well as their savings improved, they worsened with regard to their financial situation. The results for the larger countries were generally positive with Germany, France and Poland reporting an increase in consumer confidence over the two-month period.
The EU's BCI also recorded its first positive reading since March. A surge in industry managers' confidence lifted the index above its long term average of zero in September.
