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Business sentiment slips

July 14, 2015

German investor confidence has fallen to its lowest level in eight months, a leading economic survey has found. Despite the downturn, the outlook for Europe's largest economy remains overwhelmingly positive.

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Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Schlesinger

A closely watched barometer of business sentiment in Germany, compiled by the ZEW economic institute and published on Tuesday, slipped by 1.8 points to 29.7 in July.

The data revealed that investors and analysts had grown slightly more skeptical of the health of the German economy, although that skepticism was admittedly mild.

The survey measures current assessments of business activity and expectations for the next six months. Published monthly, July's results marked the index's fourth consecutive downtick to its lowest level since November 2014, although experts had thought the slump would be deeper.

However, the direction the index went this month belied the fact that most institutional investors and industry watchers still maintained a rosy outlook for the German economy.

"Despite the slight of the indicator, the overall economic outlook for Germany remains positive," said ZEW President Clemens Fuest.

cjc/ng (AFP, Reuters)