ZEW: Economic sentiment in Germany improved in September

The ZEW economic sentiment index for Germany, which looks ahead six months, rose to 37.3 points from 34.7 points in August, while experts had expected the indicator to deteriorate to 26.3 points.

The indicator returned to positive territory in November last year, after fluctuating in the negative range for six months, then in April it fell back into negative territory due to uncertainty surrounding the United States’ trade policy measures, but has been in positive territory again since May.

The assessment of the German economic actors included in the survey about the current conditions of the economic environment deteriorated, with the September indicator falling to minus 76.4 points from minus 68.6 points in August. The average of market expectations showed a less deteriorating indicator, minus 75 points.

The ZEW six-month economic sentiment indicator for the eurozone strengthened from 25.1 points in August to 26.1 points in September, while the average of analysts’ expectations included a worsening index of 20.3 points.