The Economic sentiment index is expected to have deteriorated in May to 103.0 from 103.7 in April. Standard Chartered says they have changed their view since the flash release of the consumer confidence index showed that consumers were less optimistic in May compared to April. The services sector still has a more optimistic economic outlook than the manufacturing sector, while the construction sector is the most pessimistic. Other surveys released earlier (PMI composite and IFO) showed a small deterioration as well, possibly reflecting the rise in energy prices and nervousness over Greece. “We do not yet believe this change in survey direction to be a cause for concern about the broader euro-area outlook. We expect growth to be in the range of 0.4-0.5% q/q for the rest of the year”,said Standard Chartered in a report on Wednesday.
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