Confidence in the euro zone economy dropped slightly in March, hitting the brakes after two positive months in a row, official EU data showed today.
Confidence rose among consumers as well as the services and retail trade sectors.
But it worsened in the fields of industry and construction, the European Commission's Economic Sentiment Indicator showed.
Among euro zone nations, the index fell the hardest in Germany.
The ESI dropped by just 0.1 points, to 94.4 points in March from 94.5 the previous month in the euro zone. But the decline was worse in the wider 27-nation European Union, from 93.2 points to 94.
"The decline was mainly driven by decreasing confidence in the industry and construction sectors," the commission said.
Among euro zone nations, the economic confidence index fell hardest in Germany, by 2.4 points, followed by drops of 1.3 points in the Netherlands and 1.1 points in Spain. It rose by 3.5 points in Italy and two points in France.
