The ZEW index, which measures business confidence in Germany, increased by about 40.2 points in the January 2023 survey, to reach 16.9, better than expectations that indicated a decline to 15 points. The improvement in the index in June was supported by an improvement in the assessment of the current economic situation by about 2.8 points, to reach 58.6.
The index indicates a positive outlook for the German economy in January for the first time since February of 2022, when the war in Ukraine began.
On the other hand, the index concerned with the eurozone rose to 16.7 points, an increase of about 40.3 points, compared to a decline of about 23.6 in the December reading, while expectations indicated a decline to -13.3, as the current situation index improved to 54.8, an increase of 2.6 points.
Inflation expectations in the Eurozone fell in the January survey to -83.7 points, about 4.4 points lower than in December.