FRANKFURT, March 9 (Reuters) – The Sentix index measuring investor morale in the euro zone fell in March, a survey showed on Monday, citing the initial impact of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran that has hit energy infrastructure and global shipping routes.
The index fell to -3.1 points in March from 4.2 the month before, still beating forecasts by analysts polled by Reuters for a reading of -5.0.
Calling it the “first indication of the economic situation following the outbreak of the Iran war”, Sentix said that the decline capped three consecutive monthly improvements.
“This casts considerable doubt on the recent upturn in the EU,” Sentix said. “The energy price shock and geopolitical risks are dampening the previously increased optimism for the eurozone economy.”
The survey of 1,055 investors taken from March 5-7 also showed a decline in both economic expectations and the current situation.
Expectations fell to 3.5 from 15.8 in the previous month, while the index measuring the current situation also fell to -9.5 from -6.8 in February.
The index for the German economy, Europe’s largest, fell to -12.1 from -6.9 in February in what Sentix said signalled “a renewed downturn after the recent glimmer of hope”.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz, Editing by Linda Pasquini)
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