Greece’s economic sentiment improves

Greece’s economic sentiment index edged higher this month, according to a Eurostat survey published Wednesday, although it remained in pessimistic territory.

The country’s ESI reading for August was 99 points, its highest in 12 months, up from 98.2 points in July. The line between pessimism and optimism is 100 points.

Improved confidence in the services sector, at the height of the tourism season, and consumer confidence helped to boost the August reading. The service confidence indicator climbed to 22.9 points this month from 17.4 points in July, while consumer confidence improved from -61.5 points in July to -57 points in August.

Nevertheless, the confidence indices for the sectors of industry, retail commerce and construction headed lower, tempering the ESI growth: The industry indicator slid from -2.7 points to -3.7 points within a month, that of retail commerce declined from -1.3 points to -3.6 points, and the confidence index for the construction sector posted a notable drop, from -39.7 points to -49.2 points.