Europe Economic Confidence Rises as Exports Improve
July 29, 2010 18:04
European confidence in the economic outlook rose to the highest in more than two years in July and German unemployment declined for a 13th month as exports sustained a recovery in the region.
An index of executive and consumer sentiment in the 16 euro nations increased to 101.3 from 99 in June, the European Commission in Brussels said today. That’s the highest since March 2008. The number of people out of work in Germany fell a seasonally adjusted 20,000 to 3.21 million, the lowest since November 2008, the Federal Labor Agency said.
Europe’s economic prospects, dented by the Greece-led budget crisis, are improving as companies from German bank Deutsche Bank AG to French luxury-goods maker LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA beat analysts’ profit estimates. Growth in Europe’s services and manufacturing industries accelerated in July and Peter Loescher, chief executive officer of Siemens AG, said today that he sees a “clear stabilization and a recovery of the global economy.”
“July’s sharper-than-expected increase in economic sentiment will further allay fears of a near-term double dip recession in the eurozone and may give fresh support to the euro,” said Martin van Vliet, an economist at ING Group in Amsterdam. Still, the “recovery is bound to lose steam in the second half of the year” as global growth slows.
The euro was little changed after the confidence report. Earlier, it rose to the highest since governments announced a May 10 package to stop the sovereign debt crisis, climbing as much as 0.7 percent to $1.3085. The euro has gained 6.8 percent against the dollar this month.
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