Forex Pros — German economic sentiment fell significantly more-than-expected in June, dropping for the fourth 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 -9.0 in June from a reading of 3.1 in May.
Analysts had expected the index to decline to -3.0 in June.
The report showed that the assessment of the current economic situation in Germany fell to 87.6 from 91.5, missing expectations of 88.5.
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 June, plunging 19.5 points to -5.9 from 13.6 in May. Economists had expected euro zone economic sentiment to decline to 6.1.
Commenting on the report, ZEW President Wolfgang Franz said, “Troubles in the euro zone as well as the feared economic downturn in the U.S. seem to weigh heavily on the mind of the financial market experts.”
Following the release of the data, the euro was up against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD climbing 0.18% to trade at 1.4331.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were broadly higher. The EURO STOXX 50 added 0.95%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 1%, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.7%, while the FTSE 100 was up 0.73%.
ForexPros.com
