LONDON - 1st November 2016 - YPO, the premier chief executive leadership organization in the world, announced today that economic confidence amongst chief executives in the European Union bounced back in the third quarter of the year, with EU business leaders now reporting the highest levels of confidence in the world.
The YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index for the EU jumped 2.2 points to 60.7, reflecting a striking level of optimism and ranking the EU as the most confident region in the world. The EU surpassed both the United States and Asia in confidence scores, and landed 1.5 points above the global score of 59.2. This positive economic outlook reverses the decline in the second quarter of the year, which followed the United Kingdom`s decision to leave the European Union.
The increase in confidence across the EU was bolstered by an upturn in confidence among the three largest economies in the region. Germany reported a significant upswing in confidence, jumping 3.6 points, from 55.5 to 59.1. France saw a more modest rise, climbing 1.0 point to 59.7, its highest level since April 2015. The United Kingdom also reported an improvement in confidence, gaining 1.6 points to land at 59.5. Having slumped 5.0 points in the previous quarter, confidence bounced back amongst British business leaders, as it became apparent that any meaningful moves to withdraw from the EU will not take place for several years. A fall in the value of the British pound also improved conditions for U.K. exporters.
Elsewhere, Spain also reported more positive economic sentiment, moving up 2.6 points from 64.3 to 66.9. Italy bucked the trend within the region, crashing 7.7 points from 63.4 to 55.7.
"There is obviously still a huge amount of uncertainty across Europe, following the U.K. referendum result and continued concerns about the financial stability of several economies in the region. However, business leaders have recognised that the real impact of Brexit is unlikely to be felt for some time and the current economic climate still offers strong opportunities for growth and investment," said Nikolaus Weil, Managing Partner of MindEx and a member of the YPO Berlin Chapter. "As chief executives in the EU look forward to 2017, they will be keeping a close eye on the political situation and monitoring key economic indicators."
Globally, the YPO Global Pulse Index fell by half a point to 59.2 for the third quarter of 2016. Confidence held steady in the United States, edging down just 0.4 point from 60.8 to 60.4. Asia fell 2.9 points to land at 60.0, as the world`s three largest economic regions reported confidence levels within one point of each other. Elsewhere, confidence in Latin America increased by 1.5 points to 55.9, whilst the Middle East and North Africa fell 2.0 points to 53.9, making it the most pessimistic region in the world. Africa reported a more positive outlook, climbing 1.7 points to 55.5, its highest level since July 2015.