Buoyed by falling unemployment, rising equity prices and a boost to their spending power from a lower oil price, euro-zone consumers have become increasingly confident, with the EC’s measure of consumer sentiment rising in March to its highest level since the summer of 2007.
This bodes well for a revival in the euro-zone’s consumer sector in the next couple of quarters and suggests that annual household spending growth may well accelerate further from Q4’s 1.4%. We think private consumption will rise by around 2.0% this year and 1.5% in 2016, providing some much-needed support to the region’s overall economic recovery.
Become a client to read more
This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.
Already have an account?
You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.
Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it
Register for free
Sign up for a free account to:
- Unlock additional content
- Register for Capital Economics events
- Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
- Request a free trial of our services