BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone economic sentiment rose more than expected in February, buoyed by more optimism in industry, services and among consumers, boosting inflation expectations among producers and consumers, data showed on Thursday.
The European Commission’s monthly sentiment survey showed economic optimism in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose to 93.4 points this month from 91.5 in January, beating expectations in a Reuters poll of economists of a rise to 92.0.
Industrial sentiment improved to -3.3 in February from a revised -6.1 points against expectations of a rise to -5.0 and, in the biggest sector of the euro zone economy — services — to -17.1 from -17.7 against expectations of a fall to -18.1.
Among consumers, optimism rose to -14.8 points from -15.5, offsetting a slight dip in sentiment in retail trade to 19.1 from -18.5.
The more upbeat outlook translated also to stronger selling price expectations among manufacturers, rising to 9.7 points from 4.8, and among consumers — to 15.7 from 15.4.
(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski)
