Tuesday 18 November 2014

German Investor Confidence Rebounds as Recession Averted

Photographer: Martin Leissl/Bloomberg
Skyscrapers stand on the city skyline in the financial district beyond the River Main... Read More
German investor confidence rose for the first time in 11 months after Europe’s largest economy avoided relapsing into a recession.
The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said its index of investor and analyst expectations, which aims to predict economic developments six months in advance, increased to 11.5 in November from minus 3.6 in October. Economists had forecast a rebound to 0.5, according to the median of 37 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.
Germany’s gross domestic product expanded 0.1 percent in the third quarter, after contracting in the three months through June, to join a gradual euro-area revival that extended from France to Greece. The European Central Bank has implemented unprecedented stimulus measures to
bolster the regional recovery and has pledged more if needed.
“The recent GDP data showed the euro zone continues with a very slow recovery,” said Alexander Koch, an economist at Raiffeisen Schweiz in Zurich. “The fundamentals do not argue for a pick up in the speed of economic activity.”
The euro rose and was at $1.2530 at 11:21 a.m. Frankfurt time, up 0.6 percent today. Germany’s benchmark DAX Index of stocks was up 1.1 percent.
GDP in the 18-nation euro area increased 0.2 percent in the third quarter, more than analysts forecast. Greece recorded quarterly growth of 0.7 percent, while France expanded 0.3 percent.

Stabilizing Economy

“The recent growth figures for the euro area suggest that the economy is stabilizing,” ZEW President Clemens Fuest said in a press release. “However, the economic environment remains fragile, not least due to ongoing geopolitical tensions.”
A measure of the current situation in Germany rose to 3.3 in November from 3.2 the previous month, today’s report showed. A gauge of expectations for the euro area jumped to 11 from 4.1.
Germany’s economy lagged behind the region as a whole in third quarter. Growth was driven primarily by private consumption as equipment investment dropped, construction fell and inventories contracted. The government cut its growth forecasts last month, and the Bundesbank said yesterday that the economy will lack momentum until at least the end of this year.

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