Eurozone economic confidence moves up a notch in August
Europeans' confidence in the economy improved a notch in August despite manufacturers' worries about their order books and the levels of inventory they were holding.
The European Commission's gauge of economic sentiment for the Eurozone improved from a reading of 104.0 to reach 104.2.
All economic sectors registered an improvement save for manufacturing. The sub-index tracking industrial confidence fell to -3.7 points from -2.9 in the month before.
However, the sub-index for the services sector improved to 10.2 from 8.9, for consumer confidence to -6.9 from -7.2 and that for construction to a reading of -22.7 from -23.8.
Employment plans within services and construction saw significant upward revisions.
The Economic Sentiment Indices (ESIs) for France and Spain saw the largest improvements, with the former improving to 110.4 from 108.7 and the latter to 100.3 from 99.4.
In Italy however the ESI dropped by 0.6 points.