Sentiment dips in the Eurozone as talks roll on
ECONOMIC sentiment in the beleaguered euro area has continued to sink in July, it emerged yesterday, as US Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner flew in for a crisis meeting with a senior German official.
Business morale in the single currency area hit a 34-month low this month, according to official European Commission data, the pace of decline worsening for the fifth straight month.
The Commission’s overall economic sentiment indicator sank two points for the Eurozone, to an index score of 87.9. Every single sector covered by the survey revealed a drop in confidence, the report said.
With worries over the Eurozone continuing to rock economic sentiment throughout the world, US Treasury chief Geithner yesterday met with German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble to discuss the crisis.
Geithner broke from his summer holiday to travel to the North Sea island of Sylt, and the pair later issued a joint-statement calling for “ongoing international cooperation and coordination”.
The release offered no additional details on specific measures but did stress that “the need for policymakers to adopt and implement all reform steps required to deal with the financial crisis and crisis of confidence”.