Euro zone economic sentiment eases in Nov as expected

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone economic sentiment eased in November in line with expectations, data showed on Monday, as consumers became less upbeat and trimmed their inflation expectations, although manufacturer selling price forecasts hit a record high.

The European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator eased to 117.5 points in November from 118.6 in October for the 19 countries sharing the euro.

The main cause for the decline was reduced optimism among consumers wary of the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic and potential new restrictions.

Within industry, sentiment was only marginally lower at 14.1 in November, compared to 14.2 in October. For services, which make up the bulk of the euro zone economy, sentiment actually rose to 18.4 from 18.0. The market consensus was for sentiment components both to decline.

Sentiment also improved in the retail sector and in construction, but dropped two points among consumers to -6.8 from -4.8, also pulling down consumer inflation expectations to 39.3 down from a record 40.0 in October.

Still, selling price expectations among manufacturers surged to 49.0 from 42.3 in October – the highest value since measurements began in 2000, the Commission said.

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)