The Eurozone Economic Sentiment Indicator declined to 97.9 in September 2026 from 98.4 in August, falling short of market expectations of 99.0. This was the first drop in sentiment since April, driven largely by mounting consumer concerns over rising oil prices and the lack of progress in negotiations to end the six-month US–Iran war.
Consumer confidence weakened, slipping to -16.5 from -15.5, while consumer inflation expectations increased to 35.2 from 33.0. Sentiment among retailers (-6.4 vs -6.3) and construction firms (-5.0 vs -5.0) was broadly unchanged. In contrast, manufacturers’ confidence improved to -3.8 from -5.0, even as their selling-price expectations rose to 20.3 from 16.9. The services sector also saw a modest pickup in sentiment, with the index rising to 6.1 from 5.6.
Across the major Eurozone economies, sentiment deteriorated markedly in France (-1.7) and to a lesser extent in Italy (-0.8), while it improved in Spain (+3.4), Germany (+0.6), and the Netherlands (+0.5).
