German ZEW Economic Sentiment At 5-1/2 Year Low
May 15 2018 - 4:27AM
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Germany's economic sentiment remained unchanged at a
five-and-a-half-year low in May, survey data from the
Mannheim-based think tank ZEW showed Tuesday.
The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment held steady at -8.2 in
May, the lowest since November 2012. The score also matched
economists' expectations.
"The effects of the relatively positive values for German
exports and production in March 2018 have been overshadowed in the
most recent survey by uncertainty motivated by recent political
events," ZEW President Achim Wambach, said.
"The US decision to back out of the nuclear treaty with Iran and
fears of a further escalation of the international trade conflict
with the US, as well as a further rise of crude oil prices, have
had an overall negative impact on economic expectations in
Germany," Wambach added.
The current situation index dropped to a seven-month low of 87.4
in May from 87.9 a month ago. But the score was above the forecast
of 85.5.
Data showed that the financial market experts' sentiment
concerning the economic development improved slightly in May. The
corresponding index rose 0.5 points to 2.4 in May. Meanwhile, the
current situation index slid 1.6 points to 56.1.
According to the survey, the inflation expectations index for
Germany rose 12.5 points on month to 66.5 in May as crude oil
prices increased significantly after the US pulled out of the Iran
nuclear treaty.
Official data released earlier in the day showed that the
largest Eurozone economy expanded at a slower pace in the first
quarter, largely due to weak trade.
Gross domestic product grew 0.3 percent sequentially, slower
than the 0.6 percent expansion seen in the previous quarter and the
expected rate of 0.4 percent. This was the weakest growth in more
than a year.
Nonetheless, Destatis said this was the 15th quarter-on-quarter
growth in a row, contributing to the longest upswing phase since
1991.
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