Euro area consumer confidence perks up in April after months of decline

Consumers in the Eurozone grew slightly more upbeat in April, according to the results of one of the most widely-followed sentiment surveys.

The European Commission’s gauge of consumer confidence in the single currency area for April improved to a reading of -9.3 from -8.9 in the month before.

That bested the consensus forecast for a reading of -9.5.

Analysts at Pantheon Macroeconomics labelled the rebound evident in the latest data as “encouraging”, but added that the declines seen in the last few months continued to indicate that growth in household consumption and retail sales was slowing.

No breakdown of the consumer confidence survey’s components was available, but the think-tank said it would closely watch for signs of stabilisation in the more forward-looking components in the final release.