ZAGREB, February 28, 2018 – Economic sentiment improved significantly in Croatia in February, reaching a record high on the wings of optimism in the manufacturing sector and among consumers, a report released by the European Commission on Tuesday notes.
The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) in Croatia hit a record high in February, reaching 118.8 points, 0.3 points more than in January, the EC said. Its value is a reflection of significantly better expectations in industry and among consumers.
Industrial confidence in February increased by 1.8 points compared to January and reached a record high of 17.7 points. The consumer confidence indicator also jumped to its highest level since the EC has been monitoring that indicator for Croatia and stood at -8.7 points. In January it was -12.4 points. Retail confidence also leaped by 3.3 points to 15.4 points. The construction confidence value showed greater optimism and increased by 2.2 points to 7.6 points. However, the service sector indicator plunged by 4.4 points to 19.3 points.
In February, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) decreased slightly in both the euro area (by 0.8 points to 114.1) and the EU (by 0.5 points to 114.3), while remaining at historically elevated levels.
In February, the industrial confidence indicator in the EU slipped by 1.4 points compared to its 17-year high recorded in January. Consumer confidence slipped by 0.7 points while the services sector and retail confidence indicators increased by 1.2 and 1.1 points respectively. The construction confidence index edge up slightly by 0.6 points.
