BERLIN, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Analysts have significantly lowered their expectations for German economic growth in August, a study published Tuesday by the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) indicates.
The outlook for Europe's largest economy had darkened amid a "high degree of nervousness over the future path of growth," the ZEW's study report read. The Mannheim-based think tank regularly releases a closely watched index of economic sentiment which is based on surveys amongst economists.
August's economic sentiment index for future growth dropped by 7.5 points to 10 points, far off the mark of analysts' earlier expectations of a reading of 15.
"Both weaker than expected German exports, as well as the widening scandal in the German automobile sector in particular have helped contributed to this situation," ZEW president Achim Wambach said in a statement.
Furthermore, the euro has performed strongly against the U.S. dollar and other major currencies in recent weeks, raising concern in Germany that the country's sizeable export sector could be adversely affected as a consequence.
Nevertheless, Wambach noted that "the economic outlook still remains relatively stable at a fairly high level."
Economists surveyed by the ZEW also upgraded their assessment of the current economic situation both in Germany (+ 0.3 points compared to July) and the wider Eurozone (+ 9.3 points compared to July).
The latest official figures show that German GDP grew by 0.6 percent in the second quarter of 2017, mirroring the Eurozone average.