16 March 2004, 13:13  German ZEW march expectations index falls sharply

German investor expectations fell more than expected in March after last week's bomb attacks in Madrid added to fears an already weak economic recovery in Germany may suffer a further setback. The Mannheim-based ZEW institute said on Tuesday its monthly gauge of German economic expectations among institutional investors and analysts in March fell to 57.6 from 69.9 in February. The mid-range forecast of 27 analysts polled by was for a drop to 66.0. Because of the bomb attacks in Madrid last Thursday that killed 200 and injured around 1,500, ZEW divided its 313 responses into those that came before and after the blasts. It said on the basis of the responses received before the attacks, the expectations indicator would have fallen in any case to 59.1. Responses received after the attacks pointed to a drop to 55.9. ZEW said the results indicated the attacks may have had only a marginal additional impact on already gloomier sentiment.////

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