German Investor Sentiment Plunges Further In September

German investor confidence declined sharply again in September as hopes of swift improvement in economic situation fade, survey results from the think tank ZEW showed Tuesday.

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment fell to 3.6 from 19.2 in August. The score was the lowest since October 2023 and also remained well below forecast of 17.2.

The think tank said the optimism in economic expectations that has been evident since November 2023 has almost completely dwindled.

In addition, the assessment of the economic situation worsened further to the lowest since May 2020. The corresponding index posted -84.5 compared to -77.3 in the previous month.

Financial market experts’ sentiment concerning the economic development of the euro area weakened in September. At 9.3 points, the indicator was down from 17.9 in August.

The situation indicator for the currency bloc also worsened, falling 8.0 points to a new reading of minus 40.4 points.

“Although the falling economic expectations for the eurozone point to an overall rise in pessimism, the drop in expectations for Germany is significantly greater,” ZEW President Achim Wambach said.

“Most respondents appear to have already factored the ECB’s interest rate decision into their expectations,” Wambach added.

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