German investor confidence has been hit by an expected interest rate hike and Japan’s natural disaster and nuclear crisis, the closely- followed ZEW survey indicated yesterday.

The monthly ZEW poll of Germany’s financial sector showed a fall to an indexed 14.1 points in March from 15.7 points in February, a statement said.

Around 40 per cent of the results in Europe’s biggest economy were received as or after the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis occured, but all the opinions were collected before the full extent of the crisis had emerged.

“The German economy is in a robust shape. Nevertheless, the tragic events in Japan could slow down the dynamics of German economic growth at least in the short run,” the statement quoted ZEW president Wolfgang Franz as saying.

Overall however, “the indicator shows that financial market experts continue to expect a positive economic development during the forthcoming six months”, it added.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.