German ZEW Economic Sentiment prints -2.1 in May, a negative surprise
- ZEW Economic Sentiment Index for Germany disappointed, turning back to negative territory.
- Eurozone's ZEW numbers also dropped below zero, while Industrial Production data comes upbeat.
The German ZEW headline numbers for May showed that the Economic Sentiment Index arrived at -2.1 versus 5.0 expectations and 3.1 last. On the other hand, the sub-index current conditions figure jumped to 8.2 versus 7.5 expected and 5.5 booked previously, bettering market expectations.
ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach noted: “The decline in the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment shows that the financial market experts continue to expect restrained economic growth in Germany for the next six months. The most recent escalation in the trade dispute between the USA and China again increases the uncertainty regarding German exports – a key factor for the growth of the gross domestic product.”
Meanwhile, the Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment for May arrived at -1.6 vs. 1.0 expected and 4.5 last.
Separately, the bloc’s industrial production was reported for the month of March, coming in at -0.3% m/m vs. -0.3% last and -0.2% previous. On an annualized basis, the figures arrived at -0.6 % vs. -0.8% estimates and -0.3% previous.
Author
Dhwani Mehta
FXStreet
Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.
