Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence March climbed from -12.9 to -10.5 in March, slightly surpassing expectations of -10.8. This increment marks the fifth consecutive rise, achieving its highest level since April 2023. Current Situation Index also saw an increase for the fifth month, moving from -20.0 to -18.5, its highest since June 2023. Furthermore, Expectations Index had its sixth month of growth, advancing from -5.5 to -2.3, reaching its peak since February 2022, which predates the onset of the war in Ukraine.
Contrastingly, Germany, Eurozone’s largest economy, displayed a divergent trend, with Investor Confidence declining for the third consecutive month to -27.9 from -27.1. Current Situation fell for the 3rd straight month from -39.3 to -40.5, lowest reading since July 2020. Expectations Index fell from -14.0 to -14.3.
Sentix analysts interpreted the overall Eurozone data as moving “in the right direction,” though they cautioned against interpreting this as a sign of a “classic spring revival.” This cautious stance is attributed to “changed interest rate landscape”. Investors are expecting a more expansive monetary policy by ECB ahead.