Germany's ZEW investor confidence index rose sharply in October as financial market experts expectations improved on hopes of further easing in inflation and stability in interest rates, while the current assessment indicator set a new three-year low signaling that the biggest euro area economy is in recession. The economic sentiment indicator gained for a third month in a row, up 10.3 points to minus 1.1 in October, survey data from the think tank ZEW showed Tuesday. Economists had forecast a score of minus 9.3. The latest reading was the strongest since April, when it was 4.1. "It seems that we have passed the lowest point," ZEW President Achim Wambach said. While there was a noticeable uptick in the economic expectations of financial market experts, their assessment of the current economic situation in Germany was barely changed. "The heightened economic expectations are accompanied by the anticipation that inflation rates will decrease further and the fact that now more than three-quarters of respondents anticipate stable short-term interest rates in the eurozone," Wambach added.
"Negative factors such as the Israel conflict - cited by some respondents as a reason for revising their growth forecasts downward - had only limited impact on the overall more optimistic outlook."
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
April 10, 2026 16:21 ET Inflation data from the U.S. was the main data event this week as the conflict in the Middle East continue. The minutes of the latest Fed policy session and the survey data on the services sector also made headlines. In Europe, manufacturing orders data from Germany was in focus. Price data from China drew attention in Asia.