Belgian business confidence, a bellwether for the euro zone, fell by more than expected in August, as business service and trade managers became more downbeat, the central bank said on Thursday. The index, often referred to as the leading indicator, fell to -2.1 in August from -1.5 in July.
Economists polled by Reuters had on average expected the index to fall to -1.7 points from -1.5 in July, with a range of -1.0 to -2.0. The fall was sharpest among managers in the business-related services sector, as they became less optimistic about future activity and saw weaker overall demand.
The euro zone's sixth largest economy, and one of the bloc's most open, is the first to announce business sentiment data, ahead of Germany's much-watched Ifo survey which is due on Friday. Analysts expect the German index to remain broadly unchanged. On Wednesday, euro zone consumers proved to be more upbeat than expected, as the European Commission's flash consumer confidence estimate unexpectedly rose in August.
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