- ZEW President Clemens Fuest
Confidence among German investors plunged more than initially was estimated in April, amid fears about the finances of Slovenia, Portugal and Italy. The survey of about 275 German institutional investors and analysts, which is considered to be a leading indicator of economic health, fell 12.2 points from the March level of 48.5 and is now at 36.3 points. Analysts, however, expected a decline to 41.5. Despite the decrease, a reading remains above the 0.0 level, which indicates optimism, while any reading below signals pessimism. The ZEW's current situation index tumbled from its seven-month high of +13.6 in March to +9.2, while remaining above February's level. German economy is expected to grow in the first quarter of 2013, however, a resilient labour market, weak domestic demand and the weakness of the Eurozone trading partners will continue to slow the recovery of Europe's largest economy.
"Basically, the surveyed financial market experts remain confident, but are less optimistic than they have been in the previous month. The decline in economic sentiment is consistent with the release of economic data that fell short of expectations," ZEW President Clemens Fuest said in a statement.
"Despite its decline, the indicator currently hovers at its third highest mark within the last 24 months," ZEW said.
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