EZ ESI Eased in January

Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI): 91.5; Prev (Dec): 92.4

Consumer: -15.5 (Dec: -13.8); Industry: -5.9 (Dec: -6.8); Services: -17.8 (Dec: -17.1); Retail: -18.9 (Dec: -12.9); Construction: -7.7 (Dec: -8.0)

• The EZ ESI slipped 0.9pt to 91.5 in Jan, however coming in stronger than markets expected (BBG: 89.4).
• The index still remains below Feb's pre-crisis level.
• Among the largest EZ economies, the ESI saw the largest falls in France (-2.6pt to 90.4) and Germany (-2.3pt to 92.8), while it improved in Spain (+2.4pt to 93.9), the Netherlands (+0.6pt to 94.8) and Italy (+0.4pt to 90.2).
• Industrial sentiment improved further in Jan, rising to -5.9 and showing the second consecutive gain.
• The construction sector saw an uptick in sentiment as well to -7.7, marking the highest level since Mar.
• On the other hand, service and retail trade sentiment deteriorated further to -17.8 and -18.9, respectively.
• Service confidence saw the lowest level since July, while retail trade sentiment dropped to seven month low.
• Consumer confidence remains well below the pre-crisis level with the index declining to -15.5 in Jan, down from -13.8 seen in Dec.
• The employment expectations index eased 1.6pt to 88.8 in Jan, following Dec's uptick to 90.4.