FRANKFURT -- As investors bank on an economic upturn next year, investment sentiment in Germany rose in December to the highest level for more than seven years, a new survey found on Tuesday.
The widely watched investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute jumped by 7.4 points to 62.0 points in December, its highest level since April 2006.
"With regard to 2014, financial market experts are quite optimistic. Despite rather disappointing economic data released recently, they expect economic developments in Germany and the eurozone to improve further in 2014," said ZEW chief 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 3.7 points to 32.4 points in December, 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
