ZEW: German investor sentiment drops in March

Investment sentiment in Germany hit its lowest level in seven months in March amid uncertainty about the fallout for Europe's top economy from the crisis in Crimea, a survey found Tuesday. The widely watched investor confidence index calculated by the ZEW economic institute fell by 9.1 points to 46.6 points in March, its lowest level since August 2013, it said in a statement. "In this month's survey, the Crimea crisis is weighing on experts' economic expectations for Germany," said ZEW president Clemens Fuest. "Nevertheless, the indicator's level suggests that the economic upswing is currently not at risk," Fuest said. For the survey, ZEW questions analysts and institutional investors about their current assessment of the economic situation in Germany, as well as their expectations for the coming months. The sub-index measuring financial market players' view of the current economic situation in Germany rose by 1.3 points to 51.3 points in March, its highest level since August 2011. A frequent criticism of the ZEW index is that it can be volatile and is therefore not particularly reliable.