BERLIN (Reuters) – German investor sentiment deteriorated in December as a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections and persistent supply bottlenecks in manufacturing clouded the growth outlook for Europe’s largest economy, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The ZEW economic research institute said its economic sentiment index fell to 29.9 from 31.7 points in November. A Reuters poll had forecast a fall to 25.1.
“The German economy is suffering noticeably from the latest developments in the COVID-19 pandemic,” ZEW President Achim Wambach said in a statement, adding that persistent supply bottlenecks were weighing on production and retail trade.
The index for current conditions dropped to -7.4 from 12.5, compared with a consensus forecast for 5.0.
“The decline in economic expectations shows that hopes for much stronger growth in the next six months are fading,” Wambach added.
(Reporting by Michael Nienaber, editing by Emma Thomasson)
