German confidence continues rise
Page last updated at 11:17 GMT, Tuesday, 19 May 2009 12:17 UK
German investor confidence rose for the seventh month in a row, a survey has indicated, raising hopes that the worst of Germany's recession could be over.
The Zew economic sentiment index, which measures expectations of economic activity over the next six months, rose to 31.1 in May from 18.1 in April.
Optimism was supported by modest signs of recovery in recent weeks, Zew said.
However investors' assessment of the current situation remained gloomy, dropping just 1.2 points to -92.8.
The index reflects the difference between the number of analysts that are optimistic on economic activity and those that are pessimistic.