Investors are more optimistic about Germany's economy following the European Central Bank's decision to cut interest rates but firms remain gloomy, two surveys showed today.
The Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) said its German expectations indicator, based on a survey of 294 institutional investors and analysts, rose for the sixth month in June to 21.3 to slightly exceed analysts' forecasts.
However, a thrice-yearly survey of more than 20,000 small firms conducted by the German chambers of commerce and industry (DIHK) showed business sentiment remains close to levels last reached when Germany was in recession in 1993.
The ZEW survey's indicator of "current expectations" also stayed near to 10-year lows at minus 95.8.
The ZEW institute said the European Central Bank's June 5th decision to cut interest rates half a percentage point to 2 per cent appeared to have played a decisive role in the improvement in its expectations indicator.
However, analysts played down the increase, noting the indicator remained far below levels reached last year.