German Investor Confidence At 13-month High

Germany's investor confidence rose sharply in April and topped economists' expectations, raising hopes of a rebound in the biggest euro area economy, but a sharp deterioration in the current assessment suggest that the outlook is set to remain greatly subdued in the near term.

The ZEW investor confidence index climbed to 3.1 from -3.6 in March, survey data from the ZEW-Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research showed on Tuesday. Economists had forecast a score of 0.8.

The index reading improved for a sixth consecutive month to enter positive territory for the first time since March 2018, and was the strongest since that month, when the score was 5.1.

Though the indicator still remains below the long-term average of 22.2 points, economic expectations have recovered significantly from its low point in October 2018, having climbed almost 28 points since, ZEW said.

The current situation index of the survey, however, tumbled to 5.5 in April from 11.1 in March. Economists were looking for a score of 8.5. The score was the weakest since November 2014, when it was 3.3.

"The slight improvement recorded by the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment is largely based on the hope that the global economic environment will develop less poorly than previously assumed," ZEW President Achim Wambach said.

"The postponement of the Brexit deadline may also have contributed to buoy the economic outlook. By contrast, the latest figures regarding incoming orders and industrial production in the German industry point to a rather weak economic development."

The investor confidence index for Eurozone surged to 4.5 in April from -2.5 in March, the ZEW survey said. However, the current assessment index shed 6.6 points to -13.2.

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