FRANKFURT --- Amid growing optimism in Europe's biggest economy, investment sentiment in Germany rose to its highest level in more than three-and-a-half years in September, a new survey found Tuesday.
The widely watched investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute rose by 7.6 points to 49.6 points in September, the institute said. That was fractionally higher than analysts' forecasts for an increase to around 49 points this month, and was the highest level since December 2009.
"Financial market experts hold the view that the German economy is still gaining momentum. In particular, the experts' economic optimism has increased due to the improved economic outlook for the eurozone, although recently released economic data for Germany have fallen short of expectations," said ZEW president Clemens Fuest.
For the survey, ZEW questions analysts and institutional investors about their current assessment of the economic situation in Germany, as well as their expectations for the coming months.
The sub-index measuring financial market players' view of the current economic situation in Germany rose by 12.3 points to 30.6 points in September, its highest level since June 2012.
A frequent criticism of the ZEW index is that it can be volatile and is therefore not particularly reliable.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2013
