Economic sentiment in the eurozone strengthened again in June hitting the highest level since the beginning of 2001 at 107.2, in contrast to expectations of a decline, EU Commission figures showed on Friday.
In both the eurozone and the European Union as a whole sentiment has improved by more than 11 points over the last 12 months, the Commission said. The overall EU sentiment gauge picked up to 108.8 in June, also at a 5 1/2 year high, from 108.2 in May but the picture for individual countries was mixed.
In the eurozone, Italy posted a substantial improvement of 3.2 points with an index of 110.2 in June compared with 107.0 in May but Germany and France each registered slight declines of 0.5 point.
The German index fell to 105.7 in June from 106.2 in May while France came in at 106.9 in June compared with 107.4. Spain fared particularly poorly with a drop of 3.1 points to 95.2 in June from 98.3 in May.
Outside the eurozone, the UK saw its gauge drop to 103.6, the lowest level since March, from 105.2 in May. But Poland was a top gainer with a rise of 4.1 points to 153.1 in June from 149.0 in May.
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