Eurozone data to confirm slumping confidence, easing inflation

Eurozone figures due out in this week will confirm that confidence is slumping due to high oil prices and the rise of the euro, and that inflation is easing, economists said. In Britain, the economic data to be published this week is set show a slowing trend in activity. The European Commission's confidence surveys for November due out on Tuesday are forecast to show a fall from October.
"The decline in the German IFO, the Belgian National Bank and the Italian ISAE index point to a fall in industrial confidence in response to the strong euro and concerns about global growth. The risk to this forecast is to the downside," Bank of America economist Lorenzo Codogno said.
"Although oil prices declined somewhat in November, the prior surge in oil prices is probably still weighing on consumer sentiment," he said.
HSBC economists agreed that "we expect business confidence to fall back given the impact of still high oil prices, the strong euro, and concerns about slow77er industrial growth elsewhere".
They added that they forecast consumer sentiment to stagnate in November.
Exane economist Emmanuel Ferry expected a decline in both business and consumer confidence.
Equally, French business confidence figures for October are forecast to ease from September, with the consumer sentiment report for November showing no change, at best.
Purchasing managers index reports for both the manufacturing and the services sectors in Novembers are expected to post a decline from October.
On the inflation front, the preliminary eurozone inflation data for November is forecast to show a 2.3 percent rise compared with October's jump to 2.4 percent from 2.1 percent.
UBS economist Ed Teather said the figure "is likely to fall in our view".
On Thursday, the European Central Bank is expected to leave interest rates unchanged until at least the second quarter of next year.. The ECB governing council next meets to consider interest rates on December 2, and it is virtually certain to leave rates unchanged, economists said.