The Eurozone's ZEW economic sentiment index for February was 39.4, down from 40.8 in the previous month.

1. Criticizes Two Governors —Trump criticized the California governor's signing of a clean energy deal with the UK as "inappropriate." Trump also fiercely criticized Maryland Governor Wes Moore, saying his response to a pipeline rupture in northwest Washington in January was slow. 2. Refuses to Pay for "Gateway" Project Overspending —Trump posted on social media, "I strongly oppose the future 'money-burning' project in New York/New Jersey called 'Gateway,' because it will ultimately cost billions of dollars more than estimated." 3. Mandates Identification for Voters—Trump: If Congress fails to pass a bill, he will issue an executive order mandating that voters show their identification to vote. 4. Discusses Gaza Aid—Trump: The "Peace Committee" will decide how to use the $5 billion in Gaza aid. 5. Pressures Ukraine to Reach an Agreement with Russia "Quickly" —US President Trump pressured Ukraine on the 16th to reach an agreement with Russia "quickly." Trump singles out Ukraine: "Ukraine had better get back to the negotiating table quickly... We're in position, and we hope they come." 6. Claims indirect involvement in US-Iran nuclear talks —US President Trump stated that he would be "indirectly" involved in the new round of indirect negotiations between the US and Iran held in Geneva today (February 17). Trump said, "The negotiations are very important. Iran is a very tough negotiator. Let's see what the outcome is." 7. Signs nuclear energy cooperation agreement with Hungary—On February 16 local time, Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjártó and visiting US Secretary of State Rubio signed an intergovernmental agreement in Budapest on promoting cooperation in civilian nuclear energy. 8. British banking sector on high alert—British banking executives will hold their first meeting to establish a national payment system to replace Visa and Mastercard. There are growing concerns that Trump has the ability to shut down the US-owned payment system.

Data from U.S. Steel Corporation (AISI) shows that U.S. steel capacity utilization was 77.8% in the week ending February 14.