Eurozone economic sentiment deteriorates again in September

Economic sentiment in the eurozone deteriorated again in September, according to a survey released on Thursday.

The Sentix economic sentiment indicator fell to 93.3 from an upwardly-revised 93.6 in August. Still, this was above consensus expectations for a reading of 92.5.

Melanie Debono, senior Europe economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "The EC survey - the last of the lot to be published - solidifies the message from other survey data that EZ GDP likely fell in Q3.

"It averaged 93.8 in Q3, down from 96.9 in Q2, when GDP barely rose. We already knew that consumer confidence deteriorated. Today we learnt that this was driven by households’ bleaker outlook for their personal financial situation and for the economy as a whole.

"Business sentiment, meanwhile, was also a drag on the headline ESI. Admittedly, manufacturing sentiment improved. But the index only rose to -9.0 in September, leaving it near August’s three-year low of -9.9. What’s more, the services, retail and construction sentiment indices all slid. In all sectors the ESI remains below its level in February 2022, when Russia started its invasion of Ukraine."