Eurozone consumer confidence and business figures improve
(BRUSSELS) - Eurozone consumer confidence improved sharply in June while the slump in private sector business activity eased further, according to surveys released Thursday that analysts said were further signs the recession may be nearing an end.
The European Commission said its Consumer Confidence Indicator for the 17-nation single currency area rose to -18.8 points in June from -21.9 points in May, according to a first estimate.
The figure was also up for the wider 27-nation European Union to -17.5 in June after -20.2 in May.
Separately the Markit Eurozone Composite Purchasing Managers Index registered 48.9 points in June compared with 47.7 in May, rising for the third month in a row and hitting a 15-month high, albeit still below the threshold of 50 points indicating growth or recession
The survey is an important leading indicator of activity.
"At this rate, the region could stabilise in the third quarter and return to growth in the fourth quarter," Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said.
He said it was "particularly welcome news that the rate of decline outside of France and Germany has slowed sharply in recent months."
On the consumer confidence figures, Berenberg senior economist Christian Schulz said it was "another positive sign that the eurozone is emerging from recession."
"Chances seem increasingly good that the eurozone can emerge from recession in the summer", he said.