The European Commission informed that in May 2012, the Business Climate Indicator (BCI) for the euro area decreased by 0.26 points to -0.77. In addition to this, it also informed that the Economic sentiment falls sharply in both the EU and the euro area.

The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) decreased sharply in May, falling by 2.7 points in the EU and by 2.3 points in the euro area, to 90.5 and 90.6, respectively. These figures were reported by the European Commission as well as the ones for the Business Climate Indicator. For this last indicator, in May 2012, the Business Climate Indicator (BCI) for the euro area decreased by 0.26 points to -0.77. The decline was driven by a more negative assessment of all components (i.e. past production, production expectations, overall order books, export order books and stocks of finished products). In December 2011, the Economic Sentiment declined and the Business Climate improved.

With regard to the ESI figures by Member States, they decreased in most EU Member States and in all of its largest Member States, with the UK (-4.7), Italy (-4.3) and the Netherlands (-3.9) reporting the sharpest decreases, followed by France (-1.5), Germany (-1.4), Spain (-1.0) and Poland (-0.8). The ESI remains above its long-term average only in Germany.

In both zones, the EU and euro area, the decline was driven by falling confidence in all business sectors, especially in industry and retail trade. In both regions, employment plans were further revised down for all business sectors, with the largest falls occurring in services and manufacturing in the EU. At the same time, selling price expectations decreased significantly in industry, construction, services and retail trade. By contrast, confidence increased among consumers in both the EU and the euro area.