ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment - Nearly Unchanging Economic Expectations

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany decreased slightly by 0.7 points in December 2009. The indicator now stands at 50.4 points after 51.1 points in the previous month. This value is still well above the indicator’s historical average of 27.0 points.

Similar to the last two months, the economic expectations for Germany slightly receded, but still remain on a high level. This indicates that the financial experts still reckon with a slow economic recovery. Their optimism, on the one hand, may result from rising exports. On the other hand, investment demand seems to stabilise.

"We are still at the bottom of a recession. Next year, we will see a recovery, but not an economic upswing. The recovery is mainly driven by exports. How strong investments will contribute to economic growth in 2010, depends on bank lending. Banks, however, still face the difficult task to clean up their balance sheet", says ZEW President Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Wolfgang Franz.

The assessment of the current economic situation in Germany improved in December. The corresponding indicator rose by 5.0 points to minus 60.6 points. The economic expectations for the euro zone decreased in December by 3.8 points compared to the previous month. The respective indicator now stands at 48.0 points. The indicator for the current economic situation in the euro zone improved by 2.5 points and now stands at minus 67.8 points.

For further information please contact

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

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