Expectations on the Rise Again

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany increased in the current December survey, climbing 16.0 points to a new reading of 55.0 points. Economic expectations have thus largely recovered from the sharp decline witnessed in the previous month. The assessment of the economic situation in Germany worsened again, and currently stands at minus 66.5 points, 2.2 points lower than in November. The assessment of the situation thus falls slightly below the September 2020 figure (minus 66.2 points).

“The announcement of imminent vaccine approvals makes financial market experts more confident about the future. The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment increased significantly in December despite the still high numbers of new coronavirus infections. This is most likely due to the announced forthcoming COVID-19 vaccine approvals,” comments ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach on the current expectations.

The financial market experts’ sentiment concerning the economic development of the eurozone improved even more significantly than for Germany, bringing the indicator to a current level of 54.4 points for December, 21.6 points higher than in the previous month. The indicator for the current economic situation in the eurozone remained almost unchanged, climbing 0.7 points to a current reading of minus 75.7 points compared to November.

More information and studies on the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment and the release dates 2021 (as PDF file, 28 KB) and the historical time series (as Excel file, 81 KB)

More about Achim Wambach on Twitter: @AchimWambach