Economic sentiment down in EU and euro area

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The economic sentiment index in the EU and eurozone fell this month, according to European Commission Economy and Finance Department data released on Thursday.

The indicator dropped 0.4 points to 92.8 in the 27 EU states and 0.3 points to 93.3 in the 20 states that use the euro currency, the department said.

"By contrast, the Employment Expectations Indicator (EEI) picked up (+0.6 points to 102.4 in the EU and +0.5 points to 102.7 in the euro area), maintaining its position well above long-term average," it noted.

The flash estimate of the consumer confidence indicator also dropped for the second month in a row in both the EU and the euro area, the data said.

Consumer confidence dropped by 1.6 percentage points in the EU and 1.8 in the eurozone.