BERLIN, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Economic sentiment in Germany this month has seen a sharp decline, the Leibniz Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) said in its monthly expert survey published on Tuesday.
The indicator dropped from 41.8 points in July to 19.2 in August, ZEW said.
"The economic outlook for Germany is breaking down," said ZEW President Achim Wambach. German investor morale darkened more than expected in August, posting its strongest decline in two years.
Economic expectations are still affected by a high level of uncertainty, driven by ambiguous monetary policy, disappointing business data from the U.S. economy and growing concern about the situation in the Middle East, Wambach noted.
German Economics Minister Robert Habeck expressed concern over the latest sentiment barometer from the ZEW research institute.
"The economic crisis is becoming more entrenched at a level of stagnation that cannot satisfy anyone," said Habeck. "The measures that have been taken so far are not enough to address the high interest rates, the lack of demand from abroad, and the structural problems we face in Germany."
The German economy is currently stagnating. Gross domestic product shrank by 0.1 percent in the second quarter, after growth of 0.2 percent in the first three months of the year.
