German investor confidence fell sharply in September to an 18-month low as fears mounted that industrial growth and exports are slowing as the global economy loses steam, a survey showed Tuesday. The ZEW institute's index declined for the fifth consecutive month, dropping to minus 4.3 points from 14 in August. That was its lowest level since February 2009. It was considerably worse than analysts' forecast of a small dip to about 10 points and left the index, which measures professional investors' outlook for the coming six months, well below its historical average of 27.2. A strong export performance pushed Germany to growth of 2.2 percent in the second quarter over the previous three-month period, but there have been mounting concerns recently that cooling growth outside Europe could weigh on exports. ZEW noted that recent data showed a 2.2 percent month-on-month decline in industrial orders in July and a tiny 0.1 percent rise in industrial production. “This may not only indicate a temporary slowdown but could well be the first sign of a flattening of economic activity,” the group said in its report. It added that the expiration of economic stimulus plans in many countries, and the fact many industrialized countries haven't yet fully recovered from the crisis, “puts pressure on the export
