Euro zone economic sentiment up in Oct, inflation expectations surge

BRUSSELS, Oct 28 (Reuters) – Euro zone economic sentiment rose for a second straight month in October, approaching July’s all-time high and pushing inflation expectations among consumers and producers to new records, European Commission monthly data showed on Thursday.

The Commission’s economic sentiment index rose to 118.6 in October from 117.8 in September, just short of the all-time high of 119.0 from July.

The EU executive said sentiment in industry edged marginally higher to 14.2 from 14.1 and the index for services, which make up more than two-thirds of the euro zone’s gross domestic product, rose sharply to 18.2 from 15.2 in September.

The retail and construction sectors also showed gains, though optimism among consumers declined to -4.8 from -4.0.

Their inflation expectations surged to 40.0 in October, the highest value since measurements began in 2000, from 33.1 in September.

Selling price expectations among manufacturers also set a new record, climbing to 42.2 from 38.3 in September. Higher producer prices typically translate into consumer inflation with a time lag of a few months.