Mubasher: Sentiment among German investors took a sharp turn downward during June, amidst recent weak economic figures and a blazing trade conflict between the US and China, survey data showed on Tuesday.

The indicator for economic sentiment for Germany plummeted to negative 21.1 points in June, from negative 2.1 in May, the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) said.

Meanwhile, analysts polled by Reuters expected the gauge to drop to negative 5.9 points.

The German economy entered a soft spot, with a projection of a 0.6% growth this year.

While manufacturing activity is shrinking, business confidence hit the lowest bottom in more than four years, while ongoing trade tensions are dragging on expansion pace.

ZEW president Achim Wambach warned against “increased uncertainty regarding the future development of the global economy.”

“The intensification of the conflict between the USA and China, the increased risk of a military conflict in the Middle East and the higher probability of a no-deal Brexit are all casting a shade on the global economic outlook,” Wambach said.

Furthermore, the separate gauge measuring investors’ assessment of the current conditions in Europe’s biggest economy dipped to 7.8 points in June, from 8.2 points in the preceding month.

By 10:01 am GMT, the EUR/USD pair slipped by 0.29% to $1.1185.