Despite economic sentiment ticking down in February to 98.3, January's reading of 99.3 marked the index's highest level in almost three years. We expect sentiment to remain upbeat, reflecting stronger expected activity over the year in line with a modest acceleration in economic growth.
Sentiment less buoyant than in January, but in line with decent growth
Economic sentiment in the eurozone has been improving lately. Various surveys show increased optimism about the economy at the moment. The European Commission economic sentiment indicator was far more upbeat than other surveys in January, which makes the drop in February less of a concern. Disregarding January, it is still the index's highest level since April 2023.
The economy has maintained a decent growth pace in recent quarters – 0.3% in the third and fourth quarters – despite global economic turmoil. With more public investment underway, businesses have become more upbeat about the outlook. Production expectations in manufacturing have increased to a level higher than their long-term average. Order books are improving and recent production continues to trend up. A word of caution, though: we do note that the latest industrial production data (for December) did underwhelm.
The decline in overall sentiment in February mainly stemmed from a tick down in service sector optimism. Poorer recent services demand and more cautious expectations for output and employment for the months ahead indicate that a growth acceleration for 2026 in the eurozone is not a straight line nor a strong rebound.
Eurozone lending growth held steady
Also out today was bank lending growth data from the ECB. It showed that lending to the private sector continued at a modest pace in January (unchanged at 3.3%). As has been the case in recent months, lending to households continued to expand at a steady pace in January 2026, with the annual growth rate of adjusted loans holding firm at 3.0%, unchanged from December. This stability suggests that household credit demand remains resilient, supported by ongoing housing market dynamics.
For non‑financial corporations, credit dynamics softened somewhat. The annual growth rate of adjusted loans to NFCs declined to 2.8% in January from 3.0% in December, signalling a modest easing in corporate borrowing. The data for corporates is volatile from month to month and could bounce back in March. Overall, the steady growth in bank lending seems supportive of modest growth in investments for the quarters ahead.




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