Euro zone economic sentiment slowed for the third month in a row in March but beat economists' forecasts, data released by the European Commission showed today.
The closely watched headline index for economic confidence in the 12-nation euro area fell to 102.2 in March, down from a revised 102.8 a month earlier. But this was above the 102.1 which had been forecast by analysts.
Commenting on the data, Mr Howard Archer at Standard & Poor's DRI in London, said: "It shows that it is a continuation of the recent story where business confidence has been falling more than consumer confidence."
Separately, Eurostat reported unemployment in the euro area remained stable in February at 8.7 per cent.
Irish unemployment as measured by the monthly Live Register stood at 3.6 per cent.