France’s jobseekers total rose to 3,108.2K from 3,090.5K, pointing to another mild increase in labor-market pressure. The move suggests hiring conditions remain soft enough for the number of registered jobseekers to keep edging higher.
Source: Dares / France Travail — registered jobseekers statistics.
Italy’s latest bond auctions pointed to higher sovereign funding costs. The 5-year BTP auction cleared at 3.48% and the 10-year BTP auction at 4.09%, both above their previous results of 2.62% and 3.31%. The move suggests investors demanded significantly higher yields to absorb medium- and long-dated Italian debt.
Source: Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) — Department of the Treasury auction results.
Italy’s trade position with non-EU countries improved sharply in February. The non-EU trade balance widened to a €5.53 billion surplus from €2.23 billion previously. Istat said exports to non-EU markets rose 2.5% year on year, while imports fell 0.4%, helping lift the surplus materially.
Source: Istat — Foreign trade with non-EU countries, February 2026.
Spain’s March flash inflation data showed a renewed pickup in price pressure. Headline CPI rose 3.3% year on year, HICP also came in at 3.3%, and core CPI held at 2.7%. On a monthly basis, CPI rose 1.0% and HICP increased 1.5%. The release indicates inflation accelerated again in March, even though core inflation remained stable.
Source: National Statistics Institute of Spain (INE) — Flash estimate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), March 2026.
European Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis warned that the war involving Iran could push the European Union toward stagflation, as rising energy prices darken the bloc’s economic outlook. He said even a short-lived disruption in energy supply could cut EU growth in 2026 by 0.4 percentage points and lift inflation by up to 1 percentage point, while a more prolonged shock could reduce growth by 0.6 percentage points in both 2026 and 2027.
Dombrovskis said the main threat comes from the energy price shock created by the conflict, which has introduced deep uncertainty into the outlook for Europe’s economy. The warning adds to wider concern in Brussels that the war could leave the EU facing the painful mix of slower growth and higher inflation at the same time.
Source: Reuters
Italy’s latest 6-month BOT auction cleared at 2.482%, up from 2.032% previously in the data you shared. The higher yield suggests investors demanded more return to hold short-dated Italian paper, pointing to firmer short-end funding costs and a more cautious rate backdrop for Italian government debt. Italy’s Treasury listed the 6-month BOT auction among its March 2026 debt operations.
Source: Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) — 6-month BOT auction results.
Italy’s latest confidence data painted a mixed domestic picture. In the data you shared, business confidence edged up to 88.8 in March from 88.5, suggesting firms turned slightly less pessimistic. But consumer confidence fell to 92.6 from 97.4, pointing to a much sharper loss of confidence among households. The mix suggests corporate sentiment stabilized modestly, while consumers became more cautious about the economic backdrop.
Source: Istat — Consumer and business confidence, March 2026.
The euro area’s February monetary data showed a mixed credit picture. The annual growth rate of M3 money supply slowed to 3.0%, while the stock of broad money stood at about €17.37 trillion. At the same time, private-sector credit growth was 3.0%, and loans to non-financial corporations rose 2.9% year on year, a slight improvement from the prior month for corporate lending. The mix suggests liquidity growth softened, but bank lending to companies remained relatively stable.
Source: European Central Bank (ECB) — Monetary developments in the euro area, February 2026.
Spain’s economy held its momentum into the final quarter of 2025. GDP grew 0.8% quarter on quarter in Q4, matching expectations, while annual growth was confirmed at 2.7%, showing that Spain remained one of the firmer growth performers in Europe. The combination suggests domestic demand stayed resilient even as the broader euro area faced a softer backdrop.
Source: National Statistics Institute of Spain (INE) — Quarterly National Accounts, Fourth Quarter 2025.
France’s March surveys pointed to a still-cautious domestic backdrop. The French business survey slipped to 99 from 102, while consumer confidence stayed weak at 89, down from 91 previously. Together, the readings suggest both firms and households remain hesitant, with business sentiment slipping below the neutral 100 mark and consumer morale still subdued.
Source: INSEE — monthly business tendency surveys; monthly consumer confidence survey.
Germany’s GfK consumer climate for April fell to -28.0 from -24.8, a weaker reading than expected and a clear sign that household sentiment has deteriorated again. The drop suggests German consumers are becoming more cautious as energy-price worries and broader uncertainty continue to weigh on spending confidence.
Source: GfK / Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM); Reuters.
Germany’s latest 30-year Bund auction cleared at 3.420%, slightly below the 3.450% seen previously. Even with the modest decline in yield, the level remains elevated, indicating long-dated German borrowing costs are still high as investors continue to price inflation, issuance, and long-end rate risk carefully.
Source: Deutsche Finanzagentur — Issuance results for German federal securities.