Expectations Decrease Slightly – Outlook Remains Positive

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany records a decrease of 1.3 points in December 2017 and now stands at 17.4 points. The indicator thus still remains below the long-term average of 23.7 points. The assessment of the current economic situation in Germany increased by 0.5 points, with the corresponding indicator currently standing at 89.3 points.

“Overall, the outlook for the German economy in the coming six months remains positive. The current state of uncertainty surrounding the government formation in Germany has not had any significant impact on the assessment of the economic outlook. Financial market experts, however, expect to see negative effects resulting from this with regard to the Brexit negotiations as well as EU reforms,” comments ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach.

The results of this month’s special question, which was concerned with the effects the current difficulty of forming a government in Germany may have, can be found in more detail in the ZEW Financial Market Report, which will be available on Friday (15 December 2017).

The financial market experts’ sentiment concerning the economic development of the Eurozone decreased by 1.9 points, with the corresponding indicator currently standing at 29.0 points. The indicator for the current economic situation in the Eurozone continued to improve in December, climbing by 2.9 points to a level of 50.7 points compared to the previous month. The economic expectations for the Eurozone thus continue to be positive.

For further information please contact

Dr. Michael Schröder, Phone +49 (0)621/1235-368, E-mail michael.schroeder@zew.de

Lea Steinrücke, Phone +49 (0)621/1235-311, E-mail lea.steinruecke@zew.de

More information and studies on the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment and the release dates 2017 (as PDF file, 28 KB) and the historical time series (as Excel file, 81 KB)