Eurozone Investor Confidence Softens Amid Iran Conflict

(RTTNews) - Eurozone investor confidence weakened to a three-month low in March after the outbreak of the Iran war, raising concerns about the recent upturn seen in the currency bloc, a survey conducted by the behavioral research institute Sentix showed Monday.

After the third consecutive improvement, the investor confidence index dropped to -3.1 in March, in line with expectations, from +4.2 in February.

After returning to positive territory for the first time in February, the sentiment index hit a three-month low as the escalation of the Iran war weighed on global energy markets. Attacks on energy infrastructure and disruptions to shipping in the Persian Gulf are damping confidence, said Sentix.

The current situation index fell to -9.5 from -6.8 in February and remained clearly in negative territory. At the same time, the decline in economic expectations was particularly pronounced. The index plunged to 3.5 from 15.8 a month ago.

Sentix observed that the energy price shock and geopolitical risks are dampening the previously increased optimism for the euro area economy.

The trend in Germany's economic confidence also took a noticeable hit in March. The Sentix investor sentiment index fell to -12.1 in March from -6.9 in the previous month.

However, the picture remained mixed. The current situation indicator rose to -25.0 from -27.5. Meanwhile, the expectations index declined to 1.8 from 16.3.