Press Release: May 2011: Economic sentiment stable in the EU and moderately down in the euro area

In May, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) was broadly unchanged at 105.4 in the EU, while it decreased by 0.6 points to 105.5 in the euro area. The overall decline in the euro area resulted from weakening confidence in all the business sectors, while sentiment improved among consumers. In the EU, a worsening of sentiment in industry was offset by moderate gains in the other business sectors, while consumers' confidence improved markedly. Among the largest Member States1, the Netherlands (-4.6 points), Italy (-2.7) and France (-1.9) reported decreases, while the UK (+2.6) and Poland (+0.6) improved. Meanwhile, Germany (-0.1) remained broadly stable. The ESI remains above its long-term average in Germany, France, the Netherlands and the UK.