Bad surprise

Business climate in the eurozone deteriorates sharply

In Germany and the eurozone, the expected economic recovery is increasingly delayed - surprisingly, the business climate is deteriorating.

The mood in construction, industry and among consumers deteriorated at the end of the year. The sentiment barometer fell by 1.9 points to 93.7 points in December, according to data released by the EU Commission on Wednesday. Economists surveyed, however, had expected only a minimal decline.

Service providers, on the other hand, saw a slight upturn. While sentiment deteriorated in France, Germany and Italy, for example, it remained largely stable in Poland and the Netherlands.

Economy "on shaky ground"
According to a company survey, the economy in the currency area was still on course for recession in December. The Purchasing Managers' Index, which is widely observed on the financial market and combines service providers and industry, rose by 1.3 points to 49.6 points, as the financial services provider S&P Global recently announced. However, the barometer is still below the growth threshold of 50 points. "The euro economy was also on shaky ground in December," it said.