(Bloomberg) -- Euro-area economic confidence unexpectedly slipped this month as industry lost momentum.

A sentiment gauge published by the European Commission fell to 99.3 from a revised reading of 99.6 in February. That’s the second time in a row that the data have underperformed.

While the service sector remained solid in March thanks to brighter demand expectations, industry declined and a recovery in consumer confidence came to a halt.

The euro area saw a much milder winter than anticipated, but the manufacturing sector is still struggling. Additionally, inflation may be retreating, but still is painfully strong. 

To make matters worse, financial-market turmoil that kicked off in the US after the failure of some banks has come much closer to home with a government-brokered takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG in Switzerland last week. 

That latest turbulence probably didn’t fully impact March’s survey as around two thirds of business managers’ and at least 80% of consumers’ responses were collected before the banking troubles emerged.

--With assistance from Joel Rinneby and Barbara Sladkowska.

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