European Union (EU) industrial production rebounded, but retail sales continued to rise at a slower pace in February 2022, according to data from Eurostat, which said by contrast, EU economic sentiment dropped substantially in March, likely due to the uncertainty arising out of the Russian war against Ukraine, but still remained above its pre-pandemic level.
This decline was mostly seen in plummeting consumer confidence, accompanied by marked losses also in retail trade and industry confidence; by contrast, confidence improved slightly in services and remained broadly unchanged in construction, EU said in a press release. Inflation showed signs of a further rise across EU member states in March, reaching 7.5 %, and setting another record high level since the beginning of the time series in 1997. As regards the EU labour market and population, in February 2022 the unemployment rate dropped further below its pre-pandemic level while the excess mortality rate remained rather stable. The first estimate for euro area exports of goods to the rest of the world in February 2022 was EUR 215.8 billion, an increase of 17% compared with February 2021 (EUR 184.5 billion). Imports from the rest of the world stood at EUR 223.4 billion, a rise of 38.8% compared with February 2021 (EUR 161.0 billion), driven again, in particular, by a further increase in energy imports.
As a result, the euro area recorded a EUR 7.6-billion deficit in trade in goods with the rest of the world in February 2022 compared with a surplus of EUR 23.6 billion in February 2021. Intra-euro area trade rose to EUR 202.5 billion in February 2022, up by 25.6% compared with February 2021. The EU recorded a EUR 15.8-billion deficit in trade in goods with the rest of the world in February this year, compared with a surplus of EUR 21.4 billion in February 2021. Intra-EU trade rose to EUR 315.1 billion in February, a 22.6% rise compared with February 2021.
