"With confidence returning, the fundamentally very sound German economy can return to growth quickly"
- Christian Schulz, an economist at Berenberg Bank
An index of German investor confidence rose to 5.4 in February from -21.6 in January, said the ZEW Centre for European Economic Research on Tuesday. ZEW sentiment is based on a survey conducted among 350 German investors and analysts, who are asked to rate the six-month economic outlook.
"The outcome is a positive surprise," said Annalisa Piazza, a fixed-income analyst at Newedge Group in London.
"Signs that the euro-area economy is stabilizing, rather than collapsing as some have feared, and hopes of a resolution of the debt crisis seem to have supported economic sentiment."
"With confidence returning, the fundamentally very sound German economy can return to growth quickly" as long as "the hope that the euro-zone crisis is kept under control is not disappointed," Christian Schulz, an economist at Berenberg Bank in London.
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