The German economy slips into negative territory, according to a June survey

The export-dependent German economy shifted into negative territory for the first time in nine years, one of the first indices to be evaluated in June, while the US-China trade dispute hits hard while the auto industry is hard hit by climate change.

The Sentix index on Tuesday showed a contraction in its valuation of the largest economy in the euro zone, the first time since it fell since March 2010. The overall index for Germany has dropped to 0, 7 points for the month of May, against 7.9% in May.

Expectations, according to the chart from the Frankfurt-based research firm, prolonged the decline to minus 14, down from 2 in May. It's still better than the 19 least recorded in January.

As it stands, the index was 13.5, down from 18.3 May. Last month's figures suggest a variance from other records of the year, showing that expectations slipped every month except May from 34.8 points in the first month of the year.

"On the one hand, the trade dispute between the United States and China weighs heavily on a highly export-oriented economy," said Sentix in his investigation. "On the other hand, nowhere in Europe is there talk about climate change and so many questions about the industry itself. The automotive industry, one of the key sectors of the country, is still in crisis. "

The trade dispute between the United States and China lasted months, with talks broken last month, with little communication between Washington and Beijing since. Donald Trump on Monday warned his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that a new round of tariffs would be levied on the country's goods if the two leaders did not meet at the G20 summit in Japan later this month.

The home research survey showed that the overall index for the 19-member euro area fell to minus 3.3 points from 5.3 in May.

Olli Rehn, governor of the Finnish central bank, reportedly said in Helsinki on Tuesday that the European Central Bank could strengthen its forecasts, reduce interest rates, introduce measures to mitigate negative rates and restart quantitative easing, if necessary. .

Mr Rehn, considered a potential successor of Mario Draghi at the ECB, added that the ECB was determined to act in case of further weakening of economic activity, Reuters reported in Helsinki.

The remarks did not move the euro against the dollar, which was unchanged at $ 1,1312 in European trade at noon.

The Sentix survey is taking place from June 6-8 and interviews more than 900 investors about the state of several economies.