Press Release: January 2012: Economic sentiment increases in both the EU and the euro area

In January, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) rose by 1.2 points in the EU and by 0.6 points in the euro area, to 92.8 and 93.4, respectively - the first pick-up in sentiment since March 2011. The improvement was mainly driven by increasing confidence in the services sector and - to a lesser extent - among consumers and in the construction sector.