At the European level, the ESI rose to 75 points from 71.1 points. In Romania, however, this fell to 65 points from 66.8 points. Practically speaking, the indicator in Romania is ten points below the EU average, considering that in March, even in the conditions of an all-time low, it was nearly five points above this average. In the meantime, the European indicator picked up constantly, while Romania posted three months of anemic growth, followed by a new drop in the past month.
The reasons for the decline in July are the worsening outlooks in industry, construction, and trade, but also a lower level of consumer confidence. Only the confidence of managers in the service sector rose in July, compared to June, without significantly influencing the average.
At the EU level, the indicator picked up, due to a slight rebound in confidence in industry, services, retail, and in consumer confidence. In the construction sector, the indicator stagnated at its June level.
The only countries that also posted declines are Lithuania and Latvia, hit by a massive financing void and a worse-than-expected recession, Slovenia, whose industry was hit by the contraction of exports, and Greece, which was also affected by the economic crisis after the opening of its weaker than expected tourist season.
