German investor sentiment improves in November
German investor sentiment improved more than expected in November, 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 -36.7 from -59.2 in October, coming in above consensus expectations for a reading of -50.
Meanwhile, the current situation index improved to -64.5 in November from -72.2 a month earlier, also above expectations, of -68.4.
ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach said: "The ZEW indicator of economic sentiment rises again in November. This is likely to be related above all to the hope that inflation rates will fall soon.
"In this case, policymakers would not have to hit the brakes on monetary policy as hard and/or for as long as feared. However, the economic outlook for the German economy is still clearly negative."
Melanie Debono, senior Europe economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "The improvement this month, was in line with the EZ Sentix reported earlier. ZEW notes that expectations, which have now risen for two straight months, likely rose on the back of hopes that inflation will soon start to fall.
"We suspect this is driven by the fall in energy prices and warmer-than-usual winter weather. We’d warn against getting too excited by the rebound in this index; it is highly volatile and only loosely related to activity data. The outlook for the German economy remains downbeat, for now."