German Economic Confidence Strengthens On Recovery Hopes

Germany’s economic confidence strengthened more-than-expected to hit the highest in more than two years in April as investors anticipate the economy to pick up over the coming months amid the global recovery, survey results from the think tank ZEW showed on Tuesday.

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment surged to 42.9 in April from 31.7 in the previous month. The reading was seen at 35.1. The score was the highest since February 2022.

Meanwhile, the current situation index gained only 1.3 points to -79.2 in April.

ZEW President Achim Wambach said half of the survey respondents expect the German economy to pick up over the next six months amid the recovering global economy.

Improvement in assessments of the situation and economic expectations in Germany’s export destinations contributed to the heightened optimism, Wambach added.

“This is reflected, among other things, in the expected appreciation of the US dollar against the euro,” Wambach said.

Sentiment among financial market experts concerning the economic development in the euro area also improved considerably in April. The corresponding index climbed 10.4 points to 43.9 in April.

At the same time, the current situation index for the Eurozone advanced 6.0 points to -48.8.