German gross domestic product (GDP) growth probably accelerated to about 0.7 per cent in the third quarter, but German investor sentiment probably fell in November to its lowest level this year, a poll showed today.
A strong rebound in industrial output and an improvement in retail sales bolstered growth in the July-September period, but forward-looking sentiment indicators and incoming orders suggest economic activity has since cooled.
Forecasts ranged from 0.4 to 0.8 per cent. Year-on-year, GDP growth was seen up by 2.5 per cent.
Deputy economy minister Walther Otremba said last Tuesday the German economy probably grew by as much as 0.75 per cent in the third quarter. It expanded by 0.3 per cent in the second quarter, after growth of 0.5 per cent in the first.
The Federal Statistics Office is due to publish a preliminary estimate of the GDP data at next Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the ZEW economic research institute publishes its latest gauge of the mood among German investors and analysts for the outlook on Europe's largest economy.
The Mannheim-based think tank's expectations index for Germany steadied last month after four straight declines, but economists say the euro's rise to record highs against the dollar and soaring oil costs will probably hurt growth.
Alexander Krueger, an economist at WestLB in Duesseldorf, forecast a reading of -20.0, and said investor sentiment could decline further in coming months.
"The record levels scaled on euro-dollar and oil prices will have a negative impact," he said. "And we think the index could slip further in the months ahead, to around to -25.0."
Recent economic data suggest the German economy has slowed since September, and many analysts' latest predictions point to GDP growth of around 0.3-0.4 percent in the final quarter.
The order intake at manufacturers declined sharply in two of the past three months for which data is available, and growth in German trade with the rest of the world has weakened.
Not all economists were downbeat on the ZEW figure.