Expectations Improve at the Turn of the Year

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany has increased slightly in January 2017. The index has improved by 2.8 points compared to December, now standing at 16.6 points. "The slight increase of the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment is mainly due the improved economic situation across European countries. The fairly good preliminary figures recorded for the development of the German GDP last year, as well as for the industrial production of the eurozone in November 2016, came as a surprise to many. This improvement in expectations can thus also be seen as a leap of faith for 2017," comments ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach,PhD.

As a result, the current economic situation in Germany has improved significantly. The index has climbed 13.8 points to a current reading of 77.3 points. This value was last exceeded in July 2011.

Financial market experts’ sentiment concerning the economic development of the eurozone has also improved, with the respective indicator increasing by 5.1 points to a reading of 23.2 points. The indicator for the current economic situation in the eurozone climbed 7.9 points to a level of minus 0.4 points in January 2017. 

For further information please contact

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

Lea Steinrücke, Phone +49 (0)621/1235-311, E-mail 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).