German ZEW indicator of economic sentiment index rises in April, economic outlook subdued

The German ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment index rose in April. The index rose 6.7 points in April, with the corresponding indicator entering positive territory at 3.1 points. Even if the indicator continues to be below the long-term average of 22.2 points, economic expectations have rebounded considerably from its low point in October 2018, having risen nearly 28 point since.

However, the assessment of the economic situation in Germany has fallen considerably. The corresponding indicator recorded yet another fall in April and currently stands at 5.5 points, 5.6 points lower than in the previous month. Therefore the outlook for German economy for the next six months continues to be greatly subdued.

“The slight improvement recorded by the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment is largely based on the hope that the global economic environment will develop less poorly than previously assumed. The postponement of the Brexit deadline may also have contributed to buoy the economic outlook. By contrast, the latest figures regarding incoming orders and industrial production in the German industry point to a rather weak economic development,” said ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach.

Meanwhile, the financial market experts’ sentiment about the economic development of the euroarea has also rebounded again, with the corresponding indicator rising 7 points to a current level of 4.5 points. On the contrary, the assessment of the current economic situation in the euro area saw a further fall, declining 6.6 points to a current level of -13.2 points compared to March. Therefore, the euro area’s economic outlook also remains rather subdued.

At 17:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of Euro was neutral at -13.646 while the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was highly bullish at 113.32 more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex