Advertisement

Euro zone investor morale improves in August

Further signs the euro zone economy is slowly improving appeared on Monday (Aug 10),

As a survey showed investor morale rose for a fourth consecutive month in August.

Sentix's index for the euro zone went up to -13.4 from -18.2 in July.

That was its highest reading since pre-lockdown times in February

But the reading was low.

And it suggests that the euro zone economy is still in recession in the third quarter.

Sentix Managing Director Patrick Hussy said, "There is still no rejoicing in absolute terms," "The process of economic recovery is proving sluggish."

There were words of caution too after Germany, the biggest economy in the currency bloc, has seen a rise in new cases in recent weeks.

But sentiment in Germany also picked up for a fourth straight month.

Investors appeared to feel more upbeat about both the current situation and the future.

Sentix suggests this may be linked to a surge in industrial orders in June.

Data also out on Monday showed economic activity in France ran at 7% below normal levels in July.

That was a slight improvement on June, as the construction sector neared pre-crisis levels of activity.

In its monthly update on business conditions, the French central bank said the euro zone's second biggest economy contracted 13.8% in the previous month.