Following on from the recent rise in eurozone inflation, consumers say they are losing confidence in the EU economy, according to the latest consumer economic sentiment Indicator for January 2024.
ADVERTISEMENT
The flash estimate of the consumer confidence indicator in the eurozone fell to -16.1 in January 2024, a fall of 0.9 on December's figure.
In the eurozone, the indicator measures how optimistic people feel about the economy, rating confidence on a scale from -100 to 100. The -100 figure indicates very low confidence, 0 is neutral, and 100 points to high confidence.
The survey involves 23,000 households in the eurozone, with questions focusing on views on the current economic and financial situation, savings plans, and expectations for issues such as consumer prices and overall economic conditions.
Within the European Union as a whole, the same indicator was recorded at -16.2 for this current month, down 0.2 on December 2023.
While the EU incorporates countries meeting specific membership and accession criteria, the eurozone comprises those nations using the euro as their national currency.
The results come as the euro area annual inflation rate hit 2.9% in December 2023, up from 2.4% in November, according to Eurostat.