German Business Confidence at 4-Year Low

Business confidence in Germany fell in July to the lowest level in almost four years.

The indicator of economic sentiment in Germany dropped from 19.2 points in June to -6.8 points in July, the Mannheim-based ZEW institute reported on Tuesday.

The decision of the U.K. to leave the European Union (EU) created economic and political uncertainty which daunt the business prospect of the region.

“The Brexit vote has surprised the majority of financial market experts. Uncertainty about the vote’s consequences for the German economy is largely responsible for the substantial decline in economic sentiment. In particular, concerns about the export prospects and the stability of the European banking and financial system are likely to be a burden on the economic outlook,” ZEW President Achim Wambach said of the survey.

The survey comprises the views of 220 German investors and analysts between July 4 and July 18, and showed the current business conditions are negative post-Brexit.

Also, ZEW’s indicator of economic sentiment in the Euro-area declined from 20.2 points to -14.7 points.

Overall, the Euro-Area economic outlook ‘post-Brexit’ appear to be hard hit than the United Kingdom for now. The U.K. inflation data released on Tuesday surprisingly rose than expected, so are previous data released after exit vote from the EU.