Germany: Economic sentiment rises but remains downbeat in May
Latest reading: Economic sentiment rose to 91.5 in May from April’s 90.0. May’s result marked the strongest sentiment since July 2024 but remained below the long-term average of 100, pointing to a muted near-term outlook for the economy.
The improvement was broad-based, with sentiment improving in the industrial, construction and retail sectors as well as among consumers. Less positively, confidence in the services sector weakened in May.
Relating to indicators that are not used to calculate the index, employment expectations improved, while the economic uncertainty index decreased in May.