Econ sentiment index down

Greece's economic sentiment index fell to 61.9 points in May, after a temporary stabilization in April, the Institute for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE) announced on Friday.

IOBE, in a monthly report, said the May figure was not comparable with previous months' figures.

The services sector suffered the heaviest pressures in May, while consumer confidence continued falling to historic low levels for the third consecutive month. Greek consumers remain highly pessimistic over their expectations for the country's economic outlook, over their households' prospects and over developments in the labour market.

In the industrial sector, business expectations showed a decline in production, demand and new orders, while inventories were rising slightly.

In the services sector, business expectations fell to new record lows, with forecasts over the current level of business and demand were significantly worsening.

In the retail sector, business expectations over current sales fell slightly, while forecasts over demand were strongly down and inventories rose further.

In the construction sector, business expectations over the current level of business fell further, although employment prospects rose in May.

Consumers' savings showed signs of improvement in the next 12 months, after hitting record-lows in August, although forecasts over unemployment hit new record-highs.