BERLIN (Reuters) – German investor sentiment soared more than expected in December on expectations that vaccines against the coronavirus will boost the outlook for Europe’s largest economy, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The ZEW economic research institute said its survey of investors’ economic sentiment moved up to 55.0 from 39.0 in the previous month. A Reuters poll had forecast a reading of 45.5.
“The announcement of imminent vaccine approvals makes financial market experts more confident about the future,” ZEW President Achim Wambach said in a statement.
A separate gauge of current conditions fell, however, to -66.5 from -64.3 in the previous month. That compared with a consensus forecast of -66.0 points.
Germany is rushing to prepare vaccination centres across the country so it can start offering shots quickly once a vaccine has been approved in Europe. Britain began the mass vaccination of its population against COVID-19 on Tuesday.
The investor morale data reinforced other positive news on the German economy, which grew by 8.5% quarter-on-quarter from July through September after plunging 9.8% plunge in the second quarter during first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Booming car sales drove a stronger-than-expected jump in German industrial output in October, in a further sign that export-oriented manufacturing helped the economy to get off to a solid start in the fourth quarter.
The German government has unleashed an unprecedented array of rescue and stimulus measures to help companies and consumers get through the COVID-19 pandemic as unscathed as possible, including incentives to buy electric and hybrid cars.
Industrial output was up by 3.2% on the month in October after an upwardly revised increase of 2.3% the month before, figures released by the Federal Statistics Office showed on Monday. That was the biggest increase since June.
(Reporting by Michael Nienaber and Paul Carrel; editing by Riham Alkousaa, Larry King)
