Renewed Slump in Expectations

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany has once again taken a sharp decline in the current November 2020 survey, plummeting 17.1 points to a new reading of 39.0 points compared to the previous month. Having achieved a temporary high of 77.4 points in September 2020, expectations have since fallen by 38.4 points. The assessment of the economic situation in Germany has slightly worsened, and currently stands at minus 64.3 points, 4.8 points lower than in October.

“Financial experts are concerned about the economic impact of the second wave of COVID-19 and what this will entail. The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment has therefore once again significantly decreased in November, indicating a slowdown of economic recovery in Germany. There is also the additional worry that the German economy could head back into recession. According to the assertions made by the experts, neither the Brexit negotiations nor the outcome of the US presidential election currently are having an impact on the economic expectations for Germany,” comments ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach on the current expectations.

The financial market experts’ sentiment concerning the economic development of the eurozone also experienced a considerable decrease for the second time in a row. The corresponding indicator now stands at 32.8 points in the November survey, 19.5 points lower than in the previous month. By contrast, the indicator for the current economic situation in the eurozone slightly increased by 0.2 points to a new reading of minus 76.4 points.

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