Figures from the Sentix showed that the eurozone investor sentiment fell in January, recording its second consecutive monthly decline and reaching its lowest level since November 2023, with the current situation index falling to its lowest level since October 2022. The poll of 1,121 investors was conducted from January 2 to January 4.
The investor confidence index fell to -17.7 points, as expected, from -17.5 points in December. The economic expectations index fell by 0.8 points to -5.0 points. Meanwhile, the current situation index fell to -29.5 points (the lowest value since October 2022) from -28.5 points in December.
Sentix said that the weakness of the most important economy in the eurozone, Germany, seems to be destroying any upward momentum. "Germany's recessionary economy is hanging like a lead weight on the eurozone. But the rest of the global economy is also currently providing little impetus. Slightly positive signals are coming from Japan, Asia and Latin America, but these are not yet radiating as far as the eurozone. Investors are pinning their hopes, albeit to a somewhat lesser extent, on further support from the ECB's interest rate cuts. However, the ECB's room for maneuver is rapidly shrinking, as the inflationary trend is currently on a negative trajectory," Sentix added.
Meanwhile, the investor confidence index in Germany fell to -33.3 points from -33.2 points in December. The economic expectations index fell to -13.8 points from -13.5 points in December, while the current situation index remained at -50.8 points (the lowest value since June 2020).