Forexpros — German economic sentiment fell more-than-expected in July, dropping for the fifth consecutive month, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the ZEW Centre for Economic Research said that its index of German economic sentiment fell to -15.1 in July from a reading of -9.0 in June.
Analysts had expected the index to decline to -12.3 in July.
The report showed that the assessment of the current economic situation in Germany rose to 90.6 in July from 87.6, confounding expectations for a decline to 85.0
On the index, a level above 0.0 indicates optimism, a level below 0.0 indicates pessimism.
Meanwhile, economic sentiment in the euro zone was also weaker in July, falling -7.0 from -5.9 in June. Economists had expected euro zone economic sentiment to decline to -7.4.
Commenting on the report, ZEW President Wolfgang Franz said, “Despite the robust economic situation, the public debt problems of some countries in the euro zone have dampened economic sentiment. Furthermore, the economic and fiscal situation in the U.S. is watched with increasing concern.”
Following the release of the data, the euro was up against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD climbing 0.54% to trade at 1.4188.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were broadly higher. The EURO STOXX 50 surged 1.55%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.1%, Germany’s DAX rallied 1.6%, while the FTSE 100 was up 0.55%.
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