The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for the Euro Area increased to -21 in December of 2018 from -22 in the previous month and beating market expectations of -23.2. In December 2018, 52 percent of the analysts surveyed expected no changes in the economic activity in the coming six months and 34.5 percent expected it to get worse while 13.5 percent expected improvement. Meantime, the indicator for the current situation slipped by 6.1 points to 12.1 but inflation expectations decreased by 19.5 points to 6. Zew Economic Sentiment Index in the Euro Area averaged 23.95 from 1999 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 89.90 in January of 2000 and a record low of -63.70 in July of 2008.
Zew Economic Sentiment Index in Euro Area is expected to be -20.60 by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Zew Economic Sentiment Index in Euro Area to stand at 15.40 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Euro Area Zew Economic Sentiment Index is projected to trend around 25.00 in 2020, according to our econometric models.