ZEW Economic Sentiment

The ZEW Economic Sentiment is a monthly economic survey. It's an aggregation of the sentiments of approximately 300 economists and analysts, used as an indicator of the economic future of Germany for the next six months. The survey shows the balance between those analysts who are optimistic about Germany's economic future and those who are not.

ZEW stands for Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, which, when translated, says, the Center for European Economic Research.

The ZEW Economic Sentiment takes the aggregate of 300 economists' and analysts' sentiments in order to get a sense of Germany's economic future. These experts come from banks, insurance companies and financial departments of selected corporations, according the ZEW website. 

They are asked about their expectations for the coming six-months, regarding the economy generally, inflation rates, interest rates, stock markets, exchange rates and oil prices. 

The ZEW Economic Sentiment covers the economic futures of several other countries and regions, as well, including Japan, the United States, Eurozone, and the UK, France and Italy. 

An index value greater than zero indicates optimism while a value below zero indicates pessimism.