Chart of the Week: Euro Area Economic Sentiment Showing Little Signs of Abating Despite Taper Talk

Fathom’s latest Economic Sentiment Indicators (ESIs) for September show that confidence continues to strengthen across the euro area. On an aggregate level, our euro area ESI rose to an all-time high, surpassing its pre-crisis peak and buoyed by an unusually large jump in the European Commission’s consumer sentiment indicator in September. After consistently underperforming, Italy’s ESI has been volatile in recent months but rose sharply in September, up from 0.9% to 1.2% on the back of Istat’s (Italy’s National Institute of Statistics) economic climate index which climbed almost 15 points in September. This rise in economic sentiment across the currency bloc is set against the backdrop of anticipation of the ECB’s announcement on how it will taper its monthly asset purchases, expected to be made at its next meeting on 26 October.

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