Eurozone's economic activity will likely stabilize sooner rather than later, supported by the gradually improving consumer confidence and the boost to purchasing power coming from low inflation, IHS Global Insight Chief UK and European Economist Howard Archer said. The economist, however, cautioned that it would be unrealistic to expect a marked overall pick up in consumer spending for the time being at least as consumers in the currency bloc continue to face high and rising unemployment, generally muted wage growth and tight fiscal policy.
Preliminary data released by the European Commission Thursday showed that Eurozone's consumer confidence index edged up to a 10-month high of -21.9 in May from -22.3 in April and -23.5 in March, marking the sixth successive monthly growth. However, the index remained significantly low compared to long-term norms.
Survey evidence from some of the member states, especially the Netherlands and Belgium, indicates that the improvement in sentiment was driven mainly by a slight easing in pessimism over the economic outlook and unemployment, as well as positive assessment of the inflation situation.
Consumer sentiment has been boosted mainly by a sharp fall in inflation, which hit a 38-month low of 1.2 percent in April, easing the the squeeze on households' purchasing power.
Slowing the upturn in sentiment, meanwhile, the region's unemployment rate rose to a record high of 12.1 percent in March. The number of unemployed persons rose by a further 62,000 during the month.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.