BERLIN, Feb 17 - German investor optimism fell more than expected in February, as analysts said the strength of the euro was threatening company profits, the ZEW institute said on Tuesday. The Mannheim-based institute said its monthly gauge of institutional investor and analyst expectations fell to 69.9, the lowest since November, from 72.9 in January. Economists polled by had expected a drop to 72.7. A separate measure of investors' assessment of the current situation rose to minus 70.2, the highest since October 2001, from minus 74.9 in January, ZEW said.
"The expected economic upswing is definitely marked by export-related risks," said ZEW President Wolfgang Franz. The ZEW polled 308 analysts between February 2 and February 16. It says its survey is a month ahead of the Munich-based Ifo institute's closely-watched business expectation index, which is due for release on February 24. The ZEW's expectations indicator for Germany peaked at 89.6 in January 2000. The all-time low was minus 62.2 in December 1992. The current situation component has been in negative territory since May 2001, reflecting three years of stagnation in Europe's biggest economy.//