Consumer sentiment weakens in eurozone: ECB

A consumer pays at a supermarket in Brussels, Belgium, April 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

Economic growth expectations were more pessimistic than in the previous month. The respondents said they expected economic output in the next 12 months to decline by 2.6 percent (2.4 percent in September).

FRANKFURT, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Consumers in the eurozone expected inflation to be even higher and economic growth to further slow down, the European Central Bank (ECB) said on Wednesday.

According to the October edition of the bank's monthly Consumer Expectations Survey (CES), consumers' median inflation expectations over the next 12 months increased from 5.1 percent in September to 5.4 percent in October, while their expectations for inflation three years ahead remained unchanged at 3.0 percent.

Dairy products and price tags are seen at a market in Brussels, Belgium, on Nov. 4, 2022. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

Economic growth expectations were more pessimistic than in the previous month. The respondents said they expected economic output in the next 12 months to decline by 2.6 percent (2.4 percent in September).

Consumers saw unemployment rising even more sharply than before. They expected the unemployment rate to reach 12.5 percent on a one-year horizon, according to the ECB.

"Consumers continued to expect the future unemployment rate to be higher than the perceived current unemployment rate," the bank noted.

Photo taken on July 12, 2022 shows the Euro sculpture in Frankfurt, Germany. (Xinhua/Shan Weiyi)

Consumers' estimates for nominal income growth over the coming year grew from 0.6 percent in September to 0.7 percent in October, while those for nominal expenditure growth rose from 4.5 percent to 4.7 percent.

The ECB's monthly CES is based on an online survey of around 14,000 adult consumers in six eurozone countries: Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Italy and the Netherlands.