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BERLIN, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The economic sentiment index in Germany has "increased again considerably," rising 9.4 points from the previous month to 71.2 points in February, according to the monthly expert survey published by the Leibniz Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) on Tuesday.
"The financial market experts are optimistic about the future," said ZEW President Achim Wambach in a statement, adding that the experts were "confident that the German economy will be back on the growth track within the next six months."
Consumption in Germany and retail trade in particular are expected to "recover significantly, accompanied by higher inflation expectations," said Wambach.
However, the current economic situation in Germany has "worsened slightly" and declined by 0.8 points compared to the previous month to minus 67.2 points, according to the ZEW index based on a survey of almost 180 financial market experts.
"The assessment of the situation has thus remained practically unchanged at the same low level over the past six months," the ZEW noted.
Sentiment concerning economic development in the eurozone rose considerably in February. According to the ZEW, the indicator for the current economic situation in the eurozone has increased to minus 74.6 points and is only slightly higher than it was in October last year.
Inflation expectations for Germany have "once again risen sharply" by 15.3 points to 73.5 points, the ZEW said, while expectations for the eurozone jumped to 71.8 points. Enditem