German ZEW Survey Dives Lower

German investor confidence, as measured by the ZEW Center for Economic Research, dropped to a seven-year low of -22.0 in September versus expectations of a more moderate slip to -8.0. In the typical fashion of the ZEW release, future sentiment was the portion to take the greatest hit, while the current situation index actually improved to 38.9 against consensus estimates of rise to 35.0. The paradox highlights that Germans continue to find the present economic situation getting better and better, but are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the outlook as high energy prices persist and a hawkish ECB looks likely to continue hiking rates. – Terri Belkas