ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment - Expectations Brighten Up Again

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany continued to improve in May 2009. The indicator rose by 18.1 points and now stands at 31.1 points after 13.0 points in the previous month. This is above its historical average of 26.2 points.

The optimism of the financial experts is supported by modest signs of a recovery of the real economy over the last weeks. The strong decline of industrial production, for example, has come to an end and exports and incoming orders have started to rise again.

"With regard merely to the economic activity, more and more signs indicate that the worst seems to be over. However, with regard to the labour market development the worst still seems to come", says ZEW President Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Wolfgang Franz.

The May assessment of the current economic situation in Germany remains almost unchanged on a very low level. The corresponding indicator dropped only slightly by 1.2 points to minus 92.8 points.

The economic expectations for the euro zone increased in May by 16.7 points compared to the previous month. The respective indicator now stands at 28.5 points. The indicator for the current economic situation in the euro zone remains almost unchanged on a very low level. The corresponding indicator dropped by 0.2 points to minus 93.2 points.

Contact

Dr. Sandra Schmidt, E-mail: s.schmidt@zew.de

Matthias Köhler, E-mail: koehler@zew.de