Press Release: July 2011: Economic sentiment drops in both the EU and the euro area

The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) for the EU and the euro area declined in July but remains above its long-term average. It fell, by 2.2 points respectively, to 102.4 in the EU and to 103.2 in the euro area. In the euro area the fall resulted from a decline in confidence in all sectors, with strong losses in industry and services. In the EU confidence also declined notably in industry, retail trade and among consumers, with marginal falls in services and an improvement in the construction sector.