According to the final report from the European Commission, consumer confidence in the eurozone rose strongly in December, exceeding economists' forecasts and reaching the highest level since February 2022.
The consumer confidence index rose to -15.0 points compared to -16.9 points in November. Economists had expected an increase to -15.1 points. Meanwhile, the economic sentiment indicator increased to 96.4 from 94.0 in November (revised from 93.8). Consensus estimates suggested an increase to 94.1. The employment expectations indicator increased to 102.8 from 102.7 in November.
As for the EU countries, the economic sentiment indicator rose to 95.6 points from 93.8 points, and the employment expectations indicator increased to 102.4 from 101.9 in November. The improvement of the economic sentiment indicator was driven by higher confidence among consumers and managers in retail trade, services, and construction, while confidence in industry remained broadly unchanged. Amongst the largest EU economies, the economic sentiment indicator improved in Italy (+2.6), Spain (+2.4) and Germany (+2.4), while it eased in the Netherlands (-1.1) and in France (-0.5).
The data also showed that the indicator of economic uncertainty fell in December to 20.8 from 21.7 in November, thanks to lower uncertainty among consumers about their future financial situation, as well as among service managers about their future business situation. To a lesser extent, business uncertainty eased also among construction and industry managers. By contrast, uncertainty in retail trade increased marginally.