2017.09.1905:23:00UTC+00German ZEW Economic Confidence Improves Notably

Germany's economic confidence strengthened notably in September, survey data from the Mannheim-based Centre for European Economic Research/ZEW showed Tuesday.

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment rose by 7 points to 17.0 in September. The score was forecast to rise to 13.

The current conditions index gained 1.2 points to 87.9 in September. The expected reading was 86.6.

The solid growth figures in the second quarter coupled with a steep rise in bank lending and increasing investment activities are likely reasons for the financial market experts' significantly more positive outlook, ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach, said.

"The German federal elections do not seem to have been a source of uncertainty," Wambach said. "The worries about the recent strengthening of the euro has, for now, also faded into the background."

The financial market experts' assessment of the economic development of the Eurozone also improved, with the respective indicator rising 2.4 points to 31.7 points.

However, the indicator for the euro area current economic situation fell by 2.9 points to 35.5 points in September.