German investors gloomy in November

German investor confidence remained gloomy in November, a closely watched survey found Tuesday, as headwinds from trade tensions and Brexit fuel concern of a "weak" outlook for Europe's powerhouse economy.

The ZEW economic institute's monthly barometer, based on a poll of 209 analysts and financial players, stood at minus 24.1 points in November, only slightly better than the prior month's dip to minus 24.7.

Analysts surveyed by Factset had expected a strong fall in investor confidence.

The reading is the latest in a series of disappointing hard and soft data for the German economy, which some observers believe could show a slight contraction in the third quarter.

"The figures for industrial production, retail sales and foreign trade in Germany all point towards weak development of the German economy in the third quarter," ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach said in a statement.

Respondents were downbeat both about Germany's current economic situation and about the prospects for the country and the eurozone, the survey showed.

"At the moment, they do not expect to see a speedy recovery of the currently weak development of the economy," Wambach added.

The pessimism comes as Germany's export-reliant companies fret over the knock-on effects of US President Donald Trump's trade spat with China, and the risk of a hard Brexit that could badly disrupt commerce.

Closer to home, Germany's mighty carmakers were badly hit by the introduction of tough new EU emissions rules in September which slowed production and forced steep discounts to shift non-compliant models.

The latest ZEW reading remains well below the survey's long-term average of 22.7 points.

Germany is due to release preliminary third-quarter growth data on Wednesday.