German ZEW Economic Sentiment tumbled sharply from 54.3 to -39.3 in March, well below expectation of 10.3. That -93.6 pts decline was the largest on record, since the survey began in December 1991. That’s even worse than the -58.2 pts fall at the beginning of the pandemic. Current Situation Index dropped from -8.1 to -21.4, slightly better than expectation of -22.5.
Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment dropped from 48.6 to -38.7, below expectation of 49.3. Current Situation Index dropped 22.5 pts to -21.9.
Inflation expectations indicator stands at jumped sharply from -35.1 to 69.5. 76.5 per cent of the experts expect the inflation rate to increase in the next six months.
“A recession is becoming more and more likely. The war in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia are significantly dampening the economic outlook for Germany. The collapsing economic expectations are accompanied by an extreme rise in inflation expectations. The experts therefore expect a stagflation in the coming months. The worsened outlook affects practically all sectors of the German economy, but especially the energy-intensive sectors and the financial sector,” comments ZEW President Achim Wambach on current expectations.
