Germany's Economic Outlook Improves Again

By Ed Frankl

German economic sentiment jumped more than expected in April, rising for the ninth straight month, as the economy shows tentative signs of improvement at the start of the second quarter.

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for the next six months climbed 11.2 points on month to 42.9 in April, considerably beating a forecast of 35.0 in a consensus of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.

"A recovering global economy is boosting expectations for Germany, with half of the respondents anticipating the country's economy to pick up over the next six months," ZEW President Achim Wambach said.

The German economy is expected to be helped by improved economic conditions in the country's key export markets, reflected in the expected appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the euro, Wambach added.

However, ZEW's assessment of Germany's current economic conditions rose only marginally by 1.3 points to minus 79.2, reflecting that concerns remain among the 165 analysts surveyed over the country's current economic slump.

Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 16, 2024 05:32 ET (09:32 GMT)

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