- Martin Van Vliet, an economist at ING Bank
German investor confidence deteriorated in August, a ZEW university poll showed on Tuesday. An index of sentiment fell to minus 25.5 from minus 19.6 in July, below a median forecast of minus 19.4. Earlier the same day a report showed German economic growth slowed to 0.3 per cent in the second quarter.
"The indicator's decline in August signals that financial market experts still expect the German economy to cool down throughout the next six months. Especially export-oriented sectors may be affected," ZEW said.
Also Tuesday, Europe's statistics agency announced that Eurozone economy contracted by 0.2 per cent between April and June 2012 and by 0.4 per cent, compared with the same quarter in 2011. GDP fell the most in Portugal, by 1.2 per cent, while Spain's economy shrunk 0.4 per cent.
"The ongoing recession in large parts of the periphery will continue to hold back euro-zone growth," said Martin Van Vliet, an economist at ING Bank in Amsterdam. "Any recovery will likely remain sluggish and fragile. There are a lot of things that could go wrong on the crisis resolution that could derail the envisaged recovery."
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