FRANKFURT (AFP) – German investor confidence surged in March, a key survey showed yesterday, on growing expectations that the European Central Bank will start cutting interest rates soon.
The ZEW institute’s economic expectations index rose for the eighth consecutive time, climbing by 11.8 points month-on-month to reach 31.7 points.
The increase was larger than expected, with analysts surveyed by FactSet predicting a reading of 20 points.
“Economic expectations for Germany are significantly improving,” said ZEW President Achim Wambach.
“More than 80 per cent of those surveyed anticipate that the ECB will cut interest rates in the next six months,” he added. Hopes that borrowing costs will start coming down in the near future had contributed to a “more optimistic outlook for the German construction industry” in particular, he noted.
Germany’s crucial export sector meanwhile was seen benefiting from “increased economic expectations for China as well as the expected depreciation of the dollar against the euro”, he added.
