German economic sentiment deteriorates in June, ZEW indicator drops sharply to -21.1

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany dropped sharply in June 2019. The index fell 19 points from the previous month to -21.1 points, much below the long-term average of 22 points. Over the same period, the assessment of the economic situation in Germany deteriorated somewhat by 0.4 points, with the corresponding indicator dropping to a current reading of 7.8 points. Therefore, the economic outlook for Germany is similarly negative as it was in the fourth quarter of 2018.

According to ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach, the sharp fall in the indicator coincides with an increased uncertainty about the future development of the global economy and substantially worsened figures for the German economy at the start of the second quarter.

“The intensification of the conflict between the USA and China, the increased risk of a military conflict in the Middle East and the higher probability of a no-deal Brexit are all casting a shade on the global economic outlook. On top of this, German industry has been reporting worse than expected figures for production, exports and retail sales for April”, commented Achim Wambach.

Meanwhile, the financial market experts’ sentiment about the economic development of the euro area also saw a considerable fall, with the corresponding indicator currently at -20.2 points, which is a drop of 18.6 points from the previous month. On the contrary, the indicator for the current economic situation in the euro area rose 3.3 points to -3.7 points in June.

At 12:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of Euro was neutral at 2.25992 while the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was neutral at 32.6039 more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex