020 7898 0500Fears of a US-led global trade war appear to have significantly dented investor confidence in Germany, as the ZEW economic sentiment index came in well below market expectations. It had been expected to hit 13.1 from 17.8 the month before, but it actually came in at 5.1 – its lowest reading since 2016. The ZEW is seen as a leading indicator of the German economy so it is rather alarming that it missed expectations by as much as it did.
We also saw the ZEW economic sentiment index for the eurozone which also fell dramatically. It had been expected to dip to 28.1 in March from 29.3 the month before, but it actually came in at 13.4 – the lowest reading since October 2016. Clearly, the threat of a trade war is weighing heavily on analysts’ minds. Finally, the consumer confidence flash reading for March which held steady at 0.1.
Today is relatively quiet for the eurozone, as attention will be firmly placed on the US and, to a lesser extent, the UK. However, we will see the German Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index on Thursday, as well as a raft of other PMI data across the eurozone.
