UK consumer confidence falls as consumers get ‘the jitters’; BP’s new chair suffers investor revolt – business live

Eurozone economy contracts for first time in 16 months as Iran war drives fuel costs and consumer caution, S&P Global reports. | Contesto: cronaca

Punti chiave

• UK consumer confidence falls as consumers get ‘the jitters’; BP’s new chair suffers investor revolt – business live

Contesto

The eurozone private sector has slipped into contraction for the first time in 16 months, driven by a sharp downturn in services and the highest cost inflation in three decades, as the ongoing conflict in Iran pushes fuel prices higher and stokes consumer anxiety, according to data provider S&P Global. The April reading of the composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell below the 50-point threshold that separates growth from contraction, signaling a broad-based slowdown across the currency bloc. The decline was led by a contraction in the services sector, where activity shrank as businesses and households alike began to feel the pinch of rising energy costs linked to the war in the Middle East. Service providers across the eurozone reported the sharpest acceleration in cost inflation in 30 years, S&P Global said, with higher fuel prices the primary culprit. The conflict in Iran, a major oil producer, has disrupted supply chains and sent global energy markets into turmoil, pushing up the price of petrol, diesel, and heating oil. This has fed directly into operating costs for service-sector companies, from transport and logistics to hospitality and retail, forcing many to raise prices or absorb thinner margins. Consumers, meanwhile, are starting to change their behavior, with S&P Global noting that the downturn may reflect households limiting vehicle usage to essential journeys only, a sign of growing caution over both fuel costs and broader economic uncertainty. The eurozone’s economic contraction marks a significant reversal after more than a year of modest but steady growth, and it raises fresh questions about the resilience of the region’s recovery. The manufacturing sector had already been under pressure from weak global demand and high energy prices, but the services sector had held up relatively well until now. The latest data suggests that the spillover from the Iran conflict is now hitting the broader economy, with the services sector—which accounts for roughly three-quarters of eurozone GDP—suddenly buckling under the weight of cost pressures and jittery consumers. The implications are far-reaching. The European Central Bank, which has been walking...

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Categoria: cronaca