2026.03.3009:10:41UTC+00Eurozone Economic Sentiment Plummets in March

The Eurozone Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) fell to 96.6 in March 2026, down from a revised 98.2 in February and slightly below market expectations of 96.8. The decline was driven largely by rising inflation expectations linked to the conflict in the Middle East. Consumer confidence deteriorated sharply (-16.3 vs. -12.3), as inflation fears surged by 17.2 points to 43.4. Retail trade sentiment also weakened (-7.2 vs. -5.2), while confidence in the services sector was broadly unchanged (4.9 vs. 5.0). Manufacturing sentiment improved marginally (-7.0 vs. -7.2), but producers’ selling price expectations rose markedly, by 7.4 points to 19.7. Confidence in the construction sector ticked up slightly (-2.0 vs. -2.2). Among the major economies, the ESI declined sharply in France (-3.7) and Spain (-2.4), and fell notably in the Netherlands (-1.5) and Italy (-1.3), while remaining virtually unchanged in Germany (-0.1).