ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment: Positive Trend Continues

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany continued to rise considerably in September. The indicator now stands at +60.9 points in comparison to +52.5 points in August. The analysts thus confirm the expected economic rebound in Germany for the beginning of next year.

Indeed, there are first signals indicating a potential economic revival in Germany. Industrial production and the volume of domestic incoming orders increased in July. Furthermore, net foreign demand rose significantly during the same month. This may be the first fundamental data signalling the start of economic revival. In the previous months, it was primarily the stock market which indicated an economic upswing.

In September economic sentiment was more favourable for the euro-zone than for Germany. The index gained +11.5 points compared to last month's figures and now stands at 69.6 points.

307 analysts and institutional investors participated in this month's ZEW Financial Markets Survey which is conducted on a monthly basis by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim. The participants were asked about their medium-range expectations concerning economic activity and capital markets. The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment shows the balance between positive and negative expectations regarding future economic activity in Germany within a timeframe of six months.

Contact

Volker Kleff, Email: kleff@zew.de

David Lahl, Email: lahl@zew.de