German ZEW index falls to 28.1 – Wambach says recovery is not self-sustaining
Financial experts' economic expectations for Germany fell in October for the first time in five months, more than forecast, while their assessment of current conditions improved markedly.
Archive image · Photo: Immanuel Giel / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
The ZEW economic expectations index for Germany fell 6.6 points to 28.1 in October, the Mannheim-based ZEW institute said Tuesday. Economists had forecast an average of 30. It was the first decline after five consecutive increases.
The assessment of current conditions, however, rose 11.2 points to minus 35.9. Expectations for the euro zone fell 7.3 points to 18.5. Before the Iran war, the German expectations index stood at 58.3, according to dpa-AFX.
"The German economy is slowly emerging from stagnation, but the upswing is not self-sustaining," ZEW President Achim Wambach said. Private consumption and private investment remained weak because high energy prices were squeezing real incomes, he said. They were also raising production costs and keeping inflation high for longer.