Germany's economic sentiment up in October, still in negative territory

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Germany's economic sentiment index increased to minus 59.2 in October, according to the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) on Tuesday.

The figure rose slightly by 2.7 points from minus 61.9 in September, beating a market forecast of minus 65.7 in October.

An index of current conditions deteriorated significantly in Europe's largest economy, reaching minus 72.2 in October from minus 60.5 the previous month.

"The probability that real gross domestic product (GDP) will decline in the course of the next six months has also increased considerably. Overall, the economic outlook has deteriorated again," said ZEW President Achim Wambach.

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for euro area also hiked slightly by 1 point from a month ago to minus 59.7 points in October. The market estimate was minus 61.2 in October.

The indicator of the current economic situation in the eurozone lost 11.7 points to minus 70.6 in the same period.

Inflation expectations for the eurozone declined significantly by 23.7 month-on-month, hitting minus 35.8 points in October