ZEW Economic Sentiment in Eurozone

The ZEW Economic Sentiment Indicator for the euro area captures the six-month expectations of around 300 analysts and financial market professionals about the euro-area economy. It is released alongside the German indicator and includes an assessment of the current situation.

It is expressed as a balance in points: the share of optimists minus the share of pessimists in the ZEW Financial Market Survey, a monthly poll conducted in the roughly two weeks before release.

It is a leading sentiment gauge for the euro area that reacts quickly to shifts in monetary policy and markets. A sustained improvement points to greater confidence in the recovery and can support the euro and equities.

It surveys analysts rather than companies, so it gauges market sentiment rather than real activity, and it is volatile. It can diverge from hard data and from business surveys such as the PMIs or the IFO index.