- August current conmditions -61.1 vs -69.5 expected
- Prior -77.6
- August economic sentiment 34.2 vs 30.0 expected
- Prior 26.3
A good set of positives there as German investor morale is seen improving further going into August. Both the current conditions and outlook indices saw a beat on estimates, with the former being the highest since July last year. Meanwhile, the latter is the highest since February. The outlook index is now seeing four straight months of improvement as well.
ZEW notes that:
“The positive trend in expectations further consolidates in August, likely due to the good quarterly results and the recent high level in exports. The German economy continues to benefit from the federal government’s infrastructure programmes although the record low water levels on the Rhine River present an additional acute risk affecting economic activity.”
That’s a good signal as we get into Q3 but needs to be balanced by the inflation outlook, which remains the more pertinent issue for the ECB in policy setting at the moment.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.