Euro area consumer sentiment strengthened for the fifth month in a row to its highest level in over a year, preliminary data from the European Commission showed Monday. The flash consumer confidence index for Eurozone climbed to -19.0 from -20.9 in January. That was in line with economists' expectations. The latest reading was the highest since February last year, when it was at -9.4. The consumer confidence index for the EU gained 1.5 points to reach -20.6, which was the highest since February last year.
Despite the successive improvements over the past few months, the readings remained well below its long-term average. Data for the survey was collected from February 1 to 19. The final results are set to be released along with the monthly economic sentiment survey data on February 27.
