Economic Expectations Remain Almost Unchanged
ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment
The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany recorded an increase of 0.6 points in November 2018 and now stands at minus 24.1 points. Although the indicator has improved slightly, it is still clearly in negative territory and remains well below the long-term average of 22.7 points. The assessment of the current economic situation in Germany decreased considerably in November, with the corresponding indicator falling by 11.9 points to a level of 58.2 points.
“The figures for industrial production, retail sales and foreign trade in Germany all point towards a weak development of the German economy in the third quarter. This is reflected by the fact that the assessment of the current situation has experienced a decline. The expectations of the survey participants for the coming six months do not show any improvement. This means that, at the moment, they do not expect to see a speedy recovery of the currently weak development of the economy,” comments ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach.
The financial market experts’ sentiment concerning the economic development of the Eurozone fell by 2.6 points, leaving the corresponding indicator at a level of minus 22.0 points. The indicator for the current economic situation in the Eurozone dropped by 13.8 points to a level of merely 18.2 points. As a result, the outlook for the Eurozone has deteriorated even more than it has for Germany.
For more information please contact:
Frank Brückbauer, Phone +49 (0)621/1235-148, E-mail frank.brueckbauer@zew.de
Dr. Frederick Eidam, Phone +49 (0)621-1235-330, E-mail frederick.eidam@zew.de
Dr. Michael Schröder, Phone: +49 (0)621/1235-368, E-mail michael.schroeder@zew.de
More information and studies on the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment and the release dates 2018 (as PDF file, 28 KB) and the historical time series (as Excel file, 81 KB)