Trade balance figures from the eurozone showed that the surplus narrowed to €17 billion in December from the previous month’s upwardly revised €19.7 billion. That compares with a surplus of €24.5 billion in the same month the previous year, with exports falling by 2.5% and imports rising by 1.9%.
As with everywhere else, there is nothing on the schedule today, but tomorrow we will see the ZEW economic sentiment indices from Germany and the eurozone. They will give us a real insight into how people view the future prospects for the respective economies. Both readings have been in negative territory for some time and that looks set to continue tomorrow, although some slight improvement is expected in Germany.
We will also see the eurozone’s construction output figures for December. Last time around, the reading showed an increase of 0.9% and it will be hoped that this trend can continue. On Wednesday, we will see the eurozone’s flash consumer confidence reading for February which is expected to hold steady at -7.9.
