Economic sentiment in the crisis-battered Eurozone weakened in March, a key index showed Wednesday, ending a four-month upward trend.
The decline was “driven by decreases in all business sectors, while consumer confidence remained broadly stable,” the European Commission said in releasing its Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI).
The index in the 17-member Eurozone fell 1.1 points in the euro area, to 90.0 — lower than analysts had expected.
The Eurozone has been shaken in recent days as Cyprus narrowly averted a potential banking sector default, after the currency bloc had enjoyed more than six months of calm on financial markets.
In the wider 27-member European Union, the ESI fell 0.6 points to 91.4, according to the EU’s executive.
Economic sentiment had worsened in three of the five largest Eurozone economies — down 1.7 points in France, 1.6 points in Germany and 0.9 points in Spain, the commission wrote. In Italy, however, it rose by 1.4 points, despite elections in February that gave no coalition a clear majority.
Within the larger EU, confidence improved in Britain, by 1.1 points and in Poland by 1.7 points, limiting the overall decrease among the 27 states.
The Business Climate Indicator, another Eurozone index compiled by the commission, decreased by 0.14 points to—0.86, lower than analysts’ expectations.