Greek economic sentiment index up in Jan

Greece’s economic sentiment index recovered in January to 75.6 points, up from 73.3 in December 2010, the Institute for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) announced on Thursday.

IOBE, in a monthly report, attributed this improvement to a small rise in the manufacturing and retail sectors, although sentiment in the services and construction sectors continued falling.

Consumer confidence recovered slightly, with the economy showing signs of stabilising at current levels. IOBE said the economic recession is expected to slow this year.

Business expectations for production in the manufacturing sector worsened, while expectations over the current level of demand, new orders and inventories improved in January.

In the services sector, business expectations recovered over the current level of works and demand, in the retail sector, expectations fell over the current level of sales and inventories while forecasts over next quarter’s sales recovered.

In the construction sector, expectations were mixed, with forecasts over employment rising and forecasts over the current level of works worsening sharply.

Consumer confidence showed some improvement after falling to record lows in December, with Greek households feeling less pessimistic over their finances, the country’s economic situation and their intention of save month, while expectations over unemployment remained very negative.

The economic sentiment index was unchanged both in the Eurozone and the EU-27 in January to December levels, after rising for seven consecutive months.