Press Release: March 2008: Economic sentiment recovers slightly in the EU, while declining further in the euro area

In March, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) rose by 1.7 points in the EU and decreased by 0.6 points in the euro area, to 102.0 and 99.6 respectively. Following a continuous decline since mid-2007, the indicator rebounded somewhat in the EU on the back of a sharp improvement in services confidence in the UK. Meanwhile, it weakened further in the euro area and now stands just below its long-term average.