Eurozone economic sentiment drops in August

Economic sentiment in the eurozone fell a touch more than expected in August, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

The Sentix economic sentiment indicator fell to 93.3 in August from 94.5 in July, versus expectations for a reading of 93.7.

Pantheon Macroeconomics said: "The ESI paints the same picture as the PMI; the downturn is intensifying and it is spreading from manufacturing to other sectors. We already knew that consumer confidence fell, 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. By sector the deterioration was broad-based. Manufacturing firms remain most downbeat; the headline manufacturing index eased to -10.3 in August, its lowest since August 2020, but the services and construction sentiment indices slid most this month. In all sectors the ESI remains below its level in February 2022, Russia started its invasion of Ukraine."