Eurozone Economic Sentiment Plummets in March

2026-03-30 09:10 By Joana Ferreira 1 min. read

The Eurozone Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) dropped to 96.6 in March 2026, down from a revised 98.2 in February and missing market forecasts of 96.8.

The decline was fueled by rising inflation expectations tied to the Middle East conflict, with consumer confidence plunging (-16.3 vs. -12.3) as inflation fears surged 17.2 points to 43.4, the highest since July 2022.

Retailer sentiment also weakened (-7.2 vs. -5.2), while service sector confidence held steady (4.9 vs. 5.0).

Manufacturers saw a slight improvement (-7.0 vs. -7.2), though their selling price expectations jumped 7.4 points to 19.7, the highest in three years.

Construction sentiment edged up (-2.0 vs. -2.2).

Among major economies, the ESI fell sharply in France (-3.7) and Spain (-2.4), with notable declines in the Netherlands (-1.5) and Italy (-1.3), while Germany remained stable (-0.1).



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