2018.07.0905:18:00UTC+00Eurozone Investor Confidence Improves In July

Eurozone investor sentiment improved in July after a sharp slide in June, survey data from think tank Sentix showed Monday.

The investor confidence index rose unexpectedly to 12.1 in July from 9.3 in June. The expected score was 9.0.

Sentix said this development is unlikely to herald the start of a new upswing. The think tank noted that the increase seems more of a "technical" counter-movement.

The current situation index came in at 36.8 versus 34.5 in the previous month. Similarly, the expectations index improved to -10 in July from -13.3 a month ago. However, it remained in negative territory.

The next stage of escalation in the trade dispute between the US and the rest of the world has been reached and countermeasures by the EU and China are under way. If US President Trump now targets the European car-industry, the trade dispute could lead to more than a slowdown in economic sentiment, think tank noted.

Germany's Sentix investor confidence continued its downward trend in July. The index dropped to 16.2 in July from 18.5 in June.

Germany seems particularly vulnerable to an expansion of trade disputes with the USA, Sentix observed. Its key sectors, namely automobiles and banks, are increasingly suffering.