German investor sentiment roars up in 2013
GERMAN investors were more upbeat in February than at any point since the end of 2009, according to a prominent survey out yesterday.
Economic sentiment climbed 16.7 points to hit 48.2, ZEW said, a 38-month high after three successive months of improvements.
“The financial market experts have made their peace with the weak fourth quarter of 2012,” ZEW chief Professor Wolfgang Franz said.
“In their opinion the German economy faces less headwinds from the euro crisis than throughout the last months,” Franz added. He went on to predict a pick-up in German output if these economic pressures remained muted.
Respondents to ZEW were less positive on the actual state of the German economy – with the think tank’s situation indicator falling from 7.1 in January to 5.2 this month.
This means that according to investors, Germany’s economic situation is worse than at any time since June 2010, when the Eurozone powerhouse was recovering from recession.