The ESI (European Economic Sentiment Indicators) is derived from surveys gathering the assessments of economic operators of the current economic situation and their expectations about future developments.
The ESI in Croatia fell in March by 9.3 points to 103.3 points, the European Commission reported on Monday.
That was its greatest decline since the Commission has kept data for Croatia.
The Commission warned however that due to the coronavirus, data collection stopped earlier than usual hence data may be less accurate and comparable across countries than usual.
Croatia is among those countries for which the Commission managed to collect almost all responses to its survey, which would mean that this data is fairly accurate.
The results indicate that the greatest impact on ESI in Croatia in March was in the services sector recording a decline of 17.6 points, the greatest decline on record.
Retail trade and construction was also particularly affected with the wave of pessimism, which is evident in the decline of ESI by 13.5 and 10.3 points respectively.
Industrial confidence indicator decreased significantly, falling by 8.2 points compared to February and reflecting managers' pessimistic production expectations.
Consumer confidence too was shaken and fell by 5.5 points.
The Employment Expectations Indicator (EEI) also fell by 1.6 points compared to February, meaning that employers were hiring fewer workers.
Euro area and EU Economic Sentiment falls dramatically
In March 2020, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) fell dramatically in both the euro area (-8.9 points down to 94.5) and the EU (-8.2 down to 94.8 points). Also the Employment Expectations Indicator (EEI) plummeted (by 10.9 points to 94.1 in the euro area and by 9.7 points to 94.8 in the EU).
The record decrease in services confidence in the EU (-12.2) and the euro area (-13.3) was fuelled by managers’ tumbling demand expectations.
The stark decrease in retail trade confidence in the EU (-7.4) and euro area (-8.1) was due to an unprecedented fall in retailers’ assessment of the expected business situation.
The coronavirus has also troubled consumers with consumer confidence falling in the EU (-4.5) and (-5.0) in the euro area.
Industry confidence recorded falls of (-4.2) in the EU and (-4.6) in the euro area.
The sector that recorded the lowest decline in confidence was the construction sector with a fall of (-2.5) in the EU and (-2.7) points in the euro area.