MNI: EUROZONE DATA: Economic Sentiment Indicator.....>

MNI: EUROZONE DATA: Economic Sentiment Indicator (Apr 2019) Review

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- Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI): 104.0; Prev (Mar): 105.6 (rev. from 105.5)

- Consumer: -7.9 (Mar: -7.2); Industry: -4.1 (Mar: -1.6); Services: 11.5 (Mar:

11.5); Retail: -1.1 (Mar: 0.3); Construction: 6.7 (Mar: 7.5)

- Another sizeable downside surprise puts paid to hopes of a Spring rebound in

the Eurozone economy

- Confidence declined across all sectors, bar services (where it held steady)

- Unsurprisingly, the biggest drop in sentiment was recorded in industry

(-2.5pts), but notably the index remains above its -5.5 series average

- The ESI has now declined for 11 successive months, although it also remains

above its historical average of 100.0

- While tomorrow's Q1 EZ GDP data is expected to show a small rise in the pace

of growth (0.3% q/q after 0.2% in Q4)...

- ... the latest forward-looking indicators suggest that the economy is unlikely

to pick up any momentum in Q2