Germany's economic sentiment soars to 8-month high

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) – Germany's economic sentiment index surged to an eighth-month high in November, exceeding market forecast, according to data released on Tuesday.

The indicator by the Leibniz Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) of economic sentiment for Germany rose by 10.9 points to 9.8 in November, back in positive territory for the first time since April.

The market expected the figure would grow by 5 points in the month.

An index of current conditions in Germany slightly increased by 0.1 points to minus 79.8 points.

ZEW head Achim Wambach said data suggested that economic development in Germany has bottomed out.

"The heightened economic expectations are accompanied by significantly more optimistic outlooks for the German industrial sector and both domestic and foreign stock markets," Wambach added.

Expectations for inflation and interest rates also appear to have reached turning points, he said.