German investor confidence plunged this month to depths not seen since February 2009 on fears that Europe's biggest economy is facing stiff headwinds, the ZEW research institute said Tuesday. Despite strong current economic growth, the ZEW sentiment indicator, based on a survey of analysts and institutional investors, plunged 18.3 points to minus 4.3 points, its fifth monthly drop in a row.
It was also the lowest level since sentiment registered minus 5.8 points in February 2009, and far below a historical average of 27.2 points, ZEW said in a statement. By falling into negative territory, the index also showed that for the first time since March 2009, more investors expect economic conditions to deteriorate than to improve in the next six months.
That was the 16th increase running and the highest level since December 2007, ING senior economist Carsten Brzeski noted. ZEW president Wolfgang Franz was quoted as saying: "In their expectations, financial experts put more weight on risks than they did before.