Germany's ZEW economic sentiment index has shown a positive reading for the first time since July 2007. This could point to a pick-up in Europe's biggest economy in the second half of 2009.
The index, which measures the confidence of players in the financial markets, rose to 13 points in April from minus 3.5 points in March.
'It is even becoming more likely that the economy will slowly recover in the second half of this year,' said ZEW president Wolfgang Franz in a statement.
Germany is facing its worst recession in over six decades, with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicting GDP in the world's largest exporter will slump by over 5% this year.
