Summary: Euro-zone households more optimistic again in June; index registers -3.3; at elevated level; index below consensus expectation but up from May; major euro-zone bond yields almost stable.
EU consumer confidence plunged during the GFC and again in 2011/12 during the European debt crisis. After bouncing back through 2013 and 2014, it fell back significantly in late 2018 but only to a level which corresponds to significant optimism among households. Following the plunge which took place in April 2020, a recovery began a month later, with household confidence returning to above-average levels in March 2021.
Consumer confidence improved again in June according to the latest survey conducted by the European Commission. Its Consumer Confidence index recorded a reading of -3.3, a level which could be reasonably described as elevated. The reading is below the -3.0 which had been generally expected but above May’s figure of -5.1. The average reading since the beginning of 1985 is -11.6.
Sovereign bond yields remained almost stable in major European bond markets on the day. By the end of it, the German 10-year bond yield remained unchanged at -0.17% while the French 10-year yield had inched up 1bp to 0.17%.