German investor confidence sees surprise fall in March

German investor confidence unexpectedly fell for the first time in five months in March after the European Central Bank (ECB) said it may raise interest rates and Japan’s biggest earthquake on record caused a slump in global stocks.

The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said its index of investor and analyst expectations, which aims to predict developments six months in advance, declined to 14.1 from 15.7 in February. Economists had expected a gain to 15.9.

Germany’s DAX Index extended its drop today, taking losses in the past month to more than 11 per cent, on concern about the global economic impact of the disaster in Japan.