Eurozone Confidence Weakens in July

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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The European Commission announced today that its July economic sentiment indicator for the 17-nation eurozone fell to 87.9 from 89.9 in June. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a reading of 88.9.

The consumer confidence index fell to -21.5 in July from -19.8, while the industry sentiment index dropped to -15.0 from -12.8, the commission said. And the services sentiment dropped to -8.5 from -7.4, while the retail index fell to -15.0 from -14.4. The construction index declined to -28.4 from -28.1.

Among the European Union’s larger economies, sharp declines were noted in Germany, France and Spain. Increases in confidence were recorded in the United Kingdom, Italy and the Netherlands.

The continued decline in confidence suggests that doubts over the future financial stability of Greece and Spain are affecting the entire region. The prospect of a lengthy contraction in the region could prompt the European Central Bank into further action to support growth, likely in the form of another cut in its key interest rate.

Photo of Trey Thoelcke
About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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