German investor sentiment fell for the fifth month in a row in February amid growing fears of a euro zone debt crisis and a deteriorating jobs market, the ZEW economic research institute said today.
The group's financial sector indicator lost 2.1 points to stand at 45.1 points, its lowest level since July 2009, as concern generated by the Greece's debt and deficit debacle hit equity, bond and foreign exchange markets.
The barometer had stood at 47.2 points in January and analysts had forecast a drop to 41.5 points this month.
'Though we have passed through the deepest valleys of the depression, the worries about the labour market, budget deficits and the euro have not lessened,' ZEW president Wolfgang Franz said.
'There is the option that economic activity will move sideways with only minor ups and downs,' Franz warned.
Germany emerged from its worst post-war recession in the second quarter of 2009 and although the economy is expected to grow by 1.4% this year, activity failed to make any headway at all in the last three months of 2009.
However, the ZEW index has remained well above its historical average of 27.1 points. In its measure of the current situation, ZEW also said an assessment by investors improved by 1.8 points to -54.8 points, the ninth rise in a row and the highest level since November 2008.
