Germany's economic sentiment leaps up in January

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Germany's economic sentiment index soared 40.2 points month-on-month to 16.9 in January, back in positive territory for the first time since February, according to the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) on Tuesday.

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Europe's largest economy came much above than market forecast of -15 in January.

"The more favorable situation on the energy markets and the German government’s energy price caps have contributed to this in particular," ZEW head Achim Wambach said in a statement.

Export conditions for the German economy are improving due to China’s lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, Wambach added.

"Accordingly, the earnings expectations of the export-oriented and energy-intensive sectors have gone up significantly. The prospect that the inflation rate will continue to fall has brightened expectations for the consumer-related sectors," Wambach stressed.

Meanwhile, the index of current conditions bounced back, reaching -58.6 points in January, slightly up by 2.8 points.