FX.co ★ Eurozone Investor Confidence Hits 26-Month Low

Eurozone investor confidence weakened notably to a 26-month low in July, raising fears of a recession, results of a closely-watched survey showed Monday.

The investor confidence index slid more-than-expected to -26.4 in July from -15.8 in June, the survey by the behavioral research institute Sentix revealed.

After improving sharply in June, the score was expected to fall moderately to -19.9. The latest reading was the lowest since May 2020.

"June did not really represent a stabilization," Sentix said. "We were only in the eye of the storm."

The current situation index came in at a 16-month low of -16.5 in July versus -7.3 in June. At the same time, the expectations index declined considerably to -35.8, the weakest since 2008, from -24.0 in the previous month.

The agency said the current decline in situation scores justify the expectation that a recession is inevitable. The task now is to determine the depth of such a recession.

The former locomotive of the Eurozone economy is also sliding into an economic crisis, Sentix said. Germany's investor confidence index declined notably to -24.2 in July from -12.8 in June.

The current situation index fell to -13.0 in July from -2.0 in June. At the same time, the expectations index hit an all time low of -34.8.

The survey was conducted among 1,240 investors between June 30 and July 2.