Germany investor sentiment outperforms against expectations in January

Investor sentiment and the economic situation index in Germany improved more than anticipated in January, survey data from ZEW showed Tuesday.

The ZEW indicator of economic sentiment for Germany rose by 13.8 points to 59.6 points in January from 45.8 points in December, easily beating the FXStreet-cited consensus of 50.0 points in December.

The indicator of the current economic situation improved by 8.3 points to minus 72.7 points in January from minus 81.0 points in December, better than expectations of a milder improvement to minus 75.5 points.

ZEW President Achim Wambach said: "The ZEW index is rising strongly. 2026 could mark a turning point. However, despite the positive economic sentiment, work should continue to strengthen the attractiveness of the location in order to enable sustainable growth. Despite the announcement of additional tariffs by the US last weekend, export -oriented industries are experiencing, in some cases, significant improvements."

He continued: "In addition, the Mercosur agreement is likely to have improved the outlook for export-intensive industries. However, the unpredictable US trade policy continues to be an additional burden on the German export economy."

For the eurozone, investor sentiment ameliorated by 7.1 points to 40.8 points in January from 33.7 points in December, easily beating the consensus of a milder uptick to 35.2 points.

The current situation index jumped by 10.4 points to minus 18.1 points in January from minus 28.5 points in December.