Flat German investor sentiment disappoints
GERMAN investor sentiment remained unchanged in September, the ZEW economic institute said, disappointing analysts who had expected a bigger bounce as the Brexit shock wears off.
The institute’s closely watched headline investor confidence index stood at 0.5 points, exactly the same value it reached in August after recovering slightly from a massive post-Brexit slump in July. Analysts surveyed by Factset had predicted an increase to 2.5 points.
“It is worrying that sentiment has not recovered as worries about the effects of Brexit have eased,” analyst Jennifer McKeown of Capital Economics said, suggesting that “underlying growth in the German economy is set to slow”.
ZEW said the latest survey showed investors and analysts were grappling with a slew of mixed economic data in recent weeks.
“Economic impulses at home and abroad are currently inconclusive and make looking ahead more difficult,” ZEW president Achim Wambach said.
Exports to non-EU countries have slowed, Mr Wambach noted, and German industrial production has shrunk at the same time.
But conditions are improving in Germany’s EU neighbours, which are big customers for its exported goods.
While investors’ assessment of the current situation in Germany and the eurozone clouded over slightly, losing 2.5 and 0.2 points, their future outlook for the eurozone brightened compared with the previous month, gaining 0.8 points to reach 5.4. –
The head of the Centre of European Economic Research (ZEW), Achim Wambach, stands in front of the ZEW logo during a press conference in Mannheim, Germany.