Analysts at BNP Paribas note the news flow for the German economy has definitely improved over the past few months.

• Manufacturing output strengthened for the second consecutive month, although remaining well below last year’s level. Also, industrial orders rose slightly, although falling short of market expectations.
• Even though consumer confidence slightly weakened April, it remained at a very high level. Thanks to the resilience of consumer demand and construction activity, GDP increased by 0.4% in Q1. This was better than expected only a couple of weeks before. However, the decline in the ZEW economic sentiment indicator for May, published last Tuesday, points at sluggish growth in the coming months, as the US-China trade dispute and Brexit continue to weigh on industrial activity.