In April, University of Michigan consumer confidence rose from 57.3 to 61.9, while a more modest increase was expected. Both sub-indices showed an improvement with the economic conditions rising from 63.3 to 66.6 and the economic outlook increasing from 53.5 to 58.9. The improvement might be due to signs of stabilization in the housing market and manufacturing sector, but also the positive stock market sentiment might have perked up consumers’ sentiment.
EMU: First increase in exports since September 2008
In February, the euro zone trade balance showed a sharper than expected contraction in the deficit. The seasonally adjusted trade deficit narrowed from 5.4B to 4.0B. Looking at the details, imports dropped by 0.8% M/M, while exports showed an unexpected increase (0.5% M/M), the first since September 2008. The increase in exports is an encouraging sign, but we look out for next months’ figures to see whether this can be prolonged or whether it is just a technical correction after the sharp declines in the previous months.
