According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), the Portuguese consumer confidence indicator increased in June, prolonging the positive trend observed since the beginning of 2013 and renewing the maximum value of the series started in November 1997. This performance resulted from Positive contribution of expectations regarding the evolution of unemployment, the economic situation of the country and the financial situation of the household, and expectations about the evolution of savings contributed negatively. Meanwhile, the economic climate indicator, also published by the INE, increased between January and June, reaching its peak level since June 2002. In fact, confidence indicators increased in manufacturing, construction and public works and in commerce, Services only.
In Spain, the central bank expects the country’s economic growth to strengthen in the second quarter compared with the first quarter of the year, with stronger domestic demand and higher employment. Spanish GDP saw a 0.9% expansion in the chain in the period from April to June, the strongest since the third quarter of 2015, compared with the 0.8% growth in 1Q2017. Regarding the evolution of inflation, harmonized consumer prices increased 1.6% in June, year-on-year, according to data from the Spanish INE, which compares with the previous reading of 2.0% and the average forecast of analysts of 1.5%. The INE data also show that the national CPI registered an annual increase of 1.5% in June, well below the 1.9% in May.
In the Euro Zone, the economic sentiment indicator rose to 111.1 points in June, from 109.2 in May, against market expectations of an increase of 109.5, confirming the current upward trend that has pushed this index to peak values in the last 10 years (in August 2007, economic sentiment reached 111.8). The business climate indicator, which gives an indication of the economic cycle, also rose to 1.15 in June from 0.9 in May, the highest since April 2011, when it hit 1.36. Optimism in both the manufacturing and service industries is very evident in the figures released: in manufacturing, the index rose from 2.8 to 4.5; In services, the increase was from 12.8 to 13.4. Consumer confidence also improved, with the index rising from -3.3 to -1.3, as well as in the retail trade where the index rose from 2.0 to 4.4. In construction, the index improved from -5.6 to -3.5 and, in financial services, there was an increase from 20.3 to 23.2. (Source: Financial Journal 30.06.2017)
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