German ZEW Index Drops Significantly

Investor sentiment in Germany - as recorded in the ZEW index fell for the ninth straight month in October, dipping to its lowest level in over 13 years. I have really nothging more to say at this stage, this was all soooo predictable. For a good example of someone who saw it coming try Claus Vistesen (and here , and here).

Well, here we go:

The Mannheim-based economic think tank said its economic expectations indicator for Germany, based on a survey of 298 analysts and institutional investors, fell to -27.4 from -22.2 in September.

That was lower than the -20 reading expected by economists in a Reuters poll and the weakest level since March 1993. The euro slipped briefly against the U.S. dollar in response to the figures.

ZEW President Wolfgang Franz said rising orders and lower oil prices should have helped the indicator in October.

“Economic expectations were, however, overshadowed by a possible cooling of the U.S. economy, by a likely further rise in ECB interest rates and above all by the decreased consumer buying power through the VAT increase and other tax measures n 2007,” Franz noted.

The poor sentiment reading came amid growing optimism about 2006 growth in Europe’s largest economy.