German ZEW Economic Confidence Rises In June

(RTTNews) - Germany's economic confidence improved in June but remained negative as the economy faces uncertainties posed by the war in Ukraine and the tightening of monetary policy, survey results from the ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research showed on Tuesday.

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment climbed to a four-month high of minus 28.0 points in June from -34.3 in May. The reading was forecast to rise to -27.5.

The current situation index also improved in May, by 8.9 points to minus 27.6 points. The expected score was -31.0.

Financial market experts are less pessimistic about the economy, ZEW President Achim Wambach, said.

However, the economy is still exposed to numerous risks, such as the effects of the sanctions against Russia, the unclear pandemic situation in China and the gradual change of course in monetary policy, Wambach added.

Economic confidence in the Eurozone improved in June. The economic sentiment index gained 1.5 points to -28.0. The situation indicator rose 8.6 points to a new level of minus 26.4 points.

Further, the survey showed that inflation expectations for the Eurozone declined again in June. The indicator came in at minus 32.4 points, which was 21.8 points lower than in May.

Earlier in the day, the statistical office confirmed a record high inflation for May. Germany's consumer price inflation accelerated to 7.9 percent from 7.4 percent in April, driven by higher energy prices. A similarly high inflation was last reported in winter 1973/74.

At the same time, wholesale price inflation moderated from a record level in May. Nonetheless, wholesale prices logged a double-digit growth of 22.9 percent annually after rising 23.8 percent in April.