German investor sentiment picks up more than expected in October

German investor sentiment improved more than expected in October, according to a survey released on Tuesday by the ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim.

The headline ZEW investor expectations index rose to -1.1 from -11.4 in September, coming in comfortably above consensus expectations for a reading of -9.3.

Meanwhile, the current conditions index dipped to -79.8 from -79.4, but was ahead of expectations of 80.0.

ZEW President Achim Wambach said: "It seems that we have passed the lowest point. There’s a noticeable uptick in the economic expectations of financial market experts in October 2023. In contrast, the assessment of the current economic situation in Germany has barely changed.

"The heightened economic expectations are accompanied by the anticipation that inflation rates will decrease further and the fact that now more than three-quarters of respondents anticipate stable short-term interest rates in the eurozone. Negative factors such as the Israel conflict - cited by some respondents as a reason for revising their growth forecasts downward - had only limited impact on the overall more optimistic outlook."