Significantly More Optimistic Outlook

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany increased significantly in the current January 2022 survey, climbing 21.8 points to a new reading of 51.7 points. However, the assessment of the economic situation in Germany has worsened again in the current survey. The corresponding indicator dropped 2.8 points to a level of minus 10.2 points.

“The economic outlook has improved considerably with the start of the new year. The majority of financial market experts assume that economic growth will pick up in the coming six months. It is likely that the phase of economic weakness from the fourth quarter of 2021 will soon be overcome. The main reason for this is the assumption that the incidence of COVID-19 cases will fall significantly by early summer. The more positive economic expectations include the consumer-related and export-oriented sectors and thus a large part of the German economy,” comments ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach on current expectations.

The financial market experts’ sentiment concerning the economic development of the eurozone increased by 22.6 points in January and currently stands at 49.4 points. The situation indicator fell to a new level of minus 6.2 points, dropping 3.9 points compared to December 2021.

Inflation expectations for the eurozone continued to decline in the current survey. The indicator currently stands at minus 38.7 points, which corresponds to a decrease of 5.4 points compared with the December result. 58 per cent of the experts expect the inflation rate to decline in the next six months.

More information and studies on the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment and the release dates 2022 (as PDF file, 28 KB) and the historical time series (as Excel file, 81 KB)

More about Achim Wambach on Twitter: @AchimWambach