The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany continued to improve in October 2017, however, not as strongly as in the previous month. The indicator currently stands at 17.6 points, which corresponds to an increase of 0.6 points compared with the September result. The indicator, however, still remains below the long-term average of 23.8 points.

The improved outlook for the coming six months is not least the result of the surprisingly positive growth figures seen in the previous months. In August, figures for both production and incoming orders were significantly better than expected. The framework conditions for German exports, which have already seen a significant rise, are further improved by positive growth figures for Europe.