German investors downbeat on economic rebound as morale stays weak
BERLIN (Reuters) - Investors do not expect the German economy to recover rapidly from a weak patch, the ZEW research institute said on Tuesday, adding that its monthly survey pointed to a subdued third quarter.
Fears about trade disputes, the risk of a disorderly Brexit and political uncertainty at home are weighing on Europe’s largest economy, which is in its ninth year of growth.
The survey showed economic sentiment among investors in Europe’s biggest economy rising slightly to -24.1 in November from -24.7 in October. That compared to a Reuters consensus forecast of -25.0.
However, investors’ assessment of the economy’s current conditions fell to 58.2 from 70.1 in the previous month, way below a Reuters consensus forecast of 65.0.
ZEW said the survey reflected recent figures for industrial production, retail sales and foreign trade in Germany and pointed toward weak growth in the third quarter. It added that expectations for the next six months show no improvement.
“This means that, at the moment, they (survey participants) do not expect to see a speedy recovery of the currently weak development of the economy,” said ZEW President Achim Wambach in a statement.
Last week, economic advisors for the German government slashed growth forecasts for this year to 1.6 percent from a previous estimate of 2.3 percent and for next year to 1.5 percent from an earlier forecast of 1.8 percent.
Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Michelle Martin
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