Confidence among analysts and investment bankers in Germany fell for the first time in three months in January on concern over the impact of the euro on economic growth. The ZEW Institute said its economic sentiment index for Germany fell to 72.9 points from 73.4 in December. The eurozone outlook index rose to 80.1 from 78.2.
The euro rose by more than 12pc in the past month to a record level just below USD1.29 last week. European finance ministers and ECB officials last night expressed concern over the rapid rise of the euro, warning against "excessive exchange rate moves". The ZEW, which surveyed more than 300 analysts and institutional investors, remained confident in the outlook for the German economy, but said reforms aimed at making the eurozone more competitive should be accelerated. "The large amount of optimism has hardly changed," it said. "Despite the continuing strength of the euro, industrial production and the volume of incoming orders increased." //www.fxcentre.com