German ZEW July expectations gauge falls to -19.6

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch)
The Center for European Economic Research, or ZEW, said Tuesday that its index of German investor expectations fell to minus 19.6 in July from minus 16.9 in June
"The decline of the economic expectations concerning the end of 2012 is flattening out gently. This could possibly be an early sign of an encouraging development in 2013
However, risks should not be underestimated," said ZEW President Wolfgang Franz
In addition to weak euro-zone demand for German exports, the German economy is also burdened by weakening growth dynamics in other countries, he said
The ZEW current conditions index fell to 21.1 from 33.2 in June
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast the expectations index to fall to -20.0, while the current-conditions index was forecast at 29.5
The index is based on a survey of 273 analysts and institutional investors