German ZEW Economic Sentiment Improves Moderately

(RTTNews) - German economic confidence improved moderately in September as experts were cautiously optimistic about economic recovery, survey results from the Mannheim-based Centre for European Economic Research, or ZEW, showed Tuesday.

The ZEW indicator of economic sentiment rose less-than-expected to 34.7 in September from 34.2 in the previous month. The reading was seen at 39.8.

At the same time, assessment of the current economic situation again improved significantly. The corresponding index hit -47.1 compared to -61.1 in August. The score was forecast to rise to -53.0.

Experts were cautiously optimistic about a recovery of the economy, ZEW President Achim Wambach said. The growth continues to be driven by fiscal measures and is further bolstered by export momentum. Nevertheless, persistent high energy prices resulting from a continued war in Iran and the additional uncertainty caused by hybrid attacks place a burden on the economy, he noted.

Data revealed an overall stable but heterogeneous picture across industries. The insurance industry benefited from the higher interest rates and recorded an increase in the balance by 12.1 points to 46.4 points.

However, steel and metal manufacturing and the automotive industry remained in negative territory, with minus 16.7 and minus 22.6 points respectively. Meanwhile, there was a notable improvement in the banking industry, which climbed 8.2 points to reach 52.9 points.

Further, the survey showed that economic confidence in the euro area deteriorated in September. The index dropped unexpectedly to 25.8 from 31.4 in August. The score was forecast to rise to 39.2.

Meanwhile, the assessment of the economic situation strengthened as the index climbed 7.6 points to -13.9 in September.