Expectations Slightly Lower

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany recorded a very slight decrease of 0.3 points in October 2019, and now stands at minus 22.8 points. It thus remains well below the long-term average of 21.4 points. In the current October survey, the assessment of the economic situation in Germany worsened again, by 5.4 points, with the corresponding indicator falling to a current reading of minus 25.3 points. This has been the lowest reading since April 2010.

“The slight decrease in both the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment and the situation indicator shows that financial market experts continue to expect a further deterioration of the German economy. The recent settlement in the trade dispute between the USA and China does not seem to diminish economic scepticism at this stage,” comments ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach.

The financial market experts’ sentiment concerning the economic development of the eurozone also experienced a decrease, with the corresponding indicator falling 1.1 points to a current level of minus 23.5 points compared to the previous month. The indicator for the current economic situation in the eurozone dropped quite sharply by 10.8 points to a new level of minus 26.4 points.

Expectations of the inflation trend in the eurozone are also declining considerably. In the current survey, the inflation indicator fell by 8.5 points to 1.0 points.

More information and studies on the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment and the release dates 2020 (as PDF file, 28 KB) and the historical time series (as Excel file, 81 KB)