German Economic Sentiment At 7-Month High
January 17 2017 - 2:21AM
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German economic sentiment improved to its highest level in seven
months in January, as expectations were boosted by a strong run of
positive data towards the end of last year.
The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany rose to 16.6
from 13.8 in December, the Mannheim-based Centre for European
Economic Research/ZEW said Tuesday. However, economists had
forecast a score of 18.4.
The latest reading was the highest since June, when it was
19.2.
The current conditions index of the survey climbed to 77.3 from
63.5 in the previous month. This score was above economists'
consensus for 65.
The reading was the highest since July 2011, when it was
90.6.
"The slight increase of the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment
is mainly due the improved economic situation across European
countries, ZEW President Achim Wambach said.
The fairly good preliminary figures recorded for the development
of the German GDP last year, as well as for the industrial
production of the eurozone in November 2016, came as a surprise to
many, the ZEW chief noted.
"This improvement in expectations can thus also be seen as a
leap of faith for 2017," Wambach added.
The German economy expanded at the fastest in five years in 2016
on robust domestic demand amid weak trade. Gross domestic product
grew 1.9 percent.
In December, the Bundesbank raised the growth forecast for this
year to 1.8 percent from 1.4 percent, citing a strong labor market
and rising household incomes.
Latest statistics from Destatis revealed that industrial
production grew for the second straight month in November. Output
had climbed 0.4 percent. At the same time, exports had logged the
fastest growth in more than four years in November.
The economic sentiment index for Eurozone added 5.1 points to
reach 23.2 level, survey data showed today. The current conditions
index rose 7.9 points to touch -0.4 in January.
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