BERLIN, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel declined despite economic improvement after she assumed chancellorship, a poll released on Wednesday by a leading survey agency said.

    The poll, conducted by the research group Forsa for the weekly magazine Stern and TV station RTL, showed that support for Merkel has dropped to 37 percent, the lowest since she came to power last November.

    The poll, based on 2,501 voters, also found that support for Merkel's party, the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), fell to a new low -- 31 percent.

    However, support for the union's coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), went up to 31 percent by one percentage point.

    Analysts said that support for the chancellor dropped largely because her government have agreed to an unpopular planned increase of value added tax next year and healthcare reforms. Enditem