FRANKFURT – Investors in Germany have again reported more upbeat opinions about the country’s prospects, but these views were largely voiced before the US threatened further sanctions on EU goods.
The ZEW thinktank said Tuesday that its July expectations indicator for Germany in the coming half-year enjoyed a third straight increase with a rise to 52.7 points. This outpaced the market estimate of 50.4 and last month’s 47.5.
Additionally, the latest indicator was the highest since the 54.3 reading in February 2022, the last poll before Russia invaded Ukraine. The measure climbed to 51.6 in March only to plunge into negative territory the following month after the US announced a range of tariffs on EU goods.
The ZEW told LiveSquawk News that the large of majority of respondents this month had replied to the survey before US President Donald Trump’s Saturday threat of 30% tariffs on EU goods starting 1 August.
The ZEW said its current conditions indicator improved for a second straight month with a rise to -59.5 versus the -66.0 estimate and -72.0 in June.
The thinktank’s measures for Eurozone’s outlook and current situation also improved, the ZEW said.
“The increased optimism is particularly reflected in significantly improved expectations for mechanical engineering and metal production, followed by the electrical industry,” ZEW President Achim Wambach said.
Berlin’s spending plans improve mood
Noting that the majority of analysts replied to the poll prior to the latest US tariff threats, Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank, said: “Economic confidence is based on the German government’s planned infrastructure spending. But the ECB’s interest rate cuts also provide some cause for hope.”
Last month, the German Ifo thinktank said business confidence rose for the sixth consecutive month, largely on hopes government spending will spur growth. Berlin is driving much of the hopes with plans to spend hundreds of billions of euros on infrastructure and defence.
And borrowing costs in the Eurozone continue to decline, with the European Central Bank cutting its key interest rates again last month.
Tuesday’s ZEW report followed the July survey results from German pollster Sentix, which last week showed a rise in sentiment among investors. Sentix’s overall confidence index this month hit its highest level in more than three years.
Sign up for LiveSquawk and receive a discount with the code LSQEC$
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postMessage({ action: 'CheckChannelStatusReponse', stream_status: data.stream_status.status, onair: data.stream_status.onair, connected: data.stream_status.connected });
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data_array.from_react = data.from_react;
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postMessage({action: 'PublisherChannelJoined' });
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function session_static_info(msg) {
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remote_ip = msg.data.remote_ip;
socket = new WebSocket("wss://ws.livesquawk.com/ws"+distributor_server);
socket.onopen = function(event) { request_server_assignment(); };
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function session_info_interval() {
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socket.close();
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case 'reconnect': postMessage({ action: 'VisibleConsole',console_string: "Reconnected" }); break;
case 'reload': postMessage({ action: 'Reload' }); break;
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case 'player_log_request':
case 'check_channel_status_response': check_channel_status_response(data); break;
case 'PlayerLogRequest':
case 'new_tweet':
case 'new_latest_news':
case 'delete_report':
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case 'add_ref_doc':
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case 'calendar_insert':
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case 'matched_messages':
pass_straight_to_post_message(data);
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socket.onerror = function(event) {
postMessage({ action: 'VisibleConsole',console_string: "LS Socket Error" + event.type });
console.log(event);
postMessage({ action: 'LSSocketConnectionError' });
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socket_close_timeout = setTimeout(connect_to_assigned_server, reconnection_delay);
reconnection_delay = reconnection_delay*reconnectionDelayGrowFactor;
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function close_socket() {
clearTimeout(socket_close_timeout);
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socket.onerror = function(event) {};
socket.close(1000);
console.log('Socket Closed');
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function pass_straight_to_post_message(data) {
data.action = data.type;
postMessage(data);
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function join_player_channel(data) {
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session_info_interval();
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function set_static_session_info(data) {
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session_info.browser_name = data.browser_name;
session_info.user_agent = data.user_agent;
session_info.browser_version = data.browser_version;
session_info.cookies_enabled = data.cookies_enabled;
session_info.platform = data.platform;
session_info.player_version = data.player_version;
session_info.stream = data.stream;
session_info.connection_protocol = data.protocol;
session_info.delay_target = data.delay_target;
session_info.session_email = data.session_email;
session_info.remote_ip = data.remote_ip;
session_info.php_session_id = data.php_session_id;
session_info.application_name = data.application_name;
session_info.http_referrer = data.http_referrer;
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function start_log() {
var session_start_date = new Date();
session_start_time = session_start_date.getTime();
var months = ['Jan','Feb','Mar','Apr','May','Jun','Jul','Aug','Sep','Oct','Nov','Dec'];
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var data_array = {};
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data_array.username = session_info.session_email;
data_array.php_session_id = session_info.php_session_id;
data_array.webrtc_protocol = '';
data_array.session_start_time = (session_start_time/1000).toFixed(0);
data_array.stream_name = session_info.stream;
data_array.session_start_date = session_start_date_string;
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if (socket.readyState == 1) { socket.send(msg_string); }
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function update_session_info(data) {
var data_array = {};
var msg_string = '';
var current_date = new Date();
var current_time = current_date.getTime();
session_info.protocol = data.protocol;
session_info.curr_delay = (data.effective_latency / 1000).toFixed(2);
session_info.session_length = current_time - session_start_time;
session_info.ping_time = data.ping_time;
session_info.jitter = data.jitter;
session_info.packet_loss = data.packet_loss;
session_info.effective_latency = data.effective_latency;
session_info.mean_opinion_score = data.mean_opinion_score;
session_info.restarts = data.restarts;
if (socket_emits == 0) {
data_array = {};
data_array.type = 'webrtc_log_data_full';
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data_array.threshold = 0;
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data_array.flash_version = '';
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data_array.jitter = session_info.jitter;
data_array.packet_loss = session_info.packet_loss;
data_array.effective_latency = session_info.effective_latency;
data_array.mean_opinion_score = session_info.mean_opinion_score;
data_array.session_id = session_info.session_id;
msg_string = JSON.stringify(data_array);
if (socket.readyState == 1) { socket.send(msg_string); }
}
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data_array.type = 'webrtc_log_data';
data_array.session_id = session_info.session_id;
data_array.php_session_id = session_info.php_session_id;
data_array.connection_protocol = session_info.protocol;
data_array.restarts = session_info.restarts;
data_array.threshold = 0;
data_array.curr_delay = session_info.curr_delay;
data_array.session_length = session_info.session_length;
data_array.date = current_time;
data_array.webrtc_protocol = session_info.protocol;
data_array.ping_time = session_info.ping_time;
data_array.jitter = session_info.jitter;
data_array.packet_loss = session_info.packet_loss;
data_array.effective_latency = session_info.effective_latency;
data_array.mean_opinion_score = session_info.mean_opinion_score;
data_array.stream = session_info.stream;
msg_string = JSON.stringify(data_array);
if (socket.readyState == 1) { socket.send(msg_string); }
}
socket_emits++;
if (socket_emits == 100) { socket_emits = 0; }
}
- July increases beat estimates
- Most poll responses in before US threat of more tariffs
- Optimism for Eurozone improves
By Eric Culp, European Editor
LiveSquawk News
@eculp.bsky.social
@EricCulpLS
15 July 2025 | 09:45 GMT
FRANKFURT – Investors in Germany have again reported more upbeat opinions about the country’s prospects, but these views were largely voiced before the US threatened further sanctions on EU goods.
The ZEW thinktank said Tuesday that its July expectations indicator for Germany in the coming half-year enjoyed a third straight increase with a rise to 52.7 points. This outpaced the market estimate of 50.4 and last month’s 47.5.
Additionally, the latest indicator was the highest since the 54.3 reading in February 2022, the last poll before Russia invaded Ukraine. The measure climbed to 51.6 in March only to plunge into negative territory the following month after the US announced a range of tariffs on EU goods.
The ZEW told LiveSquawk News that the large of majority of respondents this month had replied to the survey before US President Donald Trump’s Saturday threat of 30% tariffs on EU goods starting 1 August.
The ZEW said its current conditions indicator improved for a second straight month with a rise to -59.5 versus the -66.0 estimate and -72.0 in June.
The thinktank’s measures for Eurozone’s outlook and current situation also improved, the ZEW said.
“The increased optimism is particularly reflected in significantly improved expectations for mechanical engineering and metal production, followed by the electrical industry,” ZEW President Achim Wambach said.
Berlin’s spending plans improve mood
Noting that the majority of analysts replied to the poll prior to the latest US tariff threats, Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank, said: “Economic confidence is based on the German government’s planned infrastructure spending. But the ECB’s interest rate cuts also provide some cause for hope.”
Last month, the German Ifo thinktank said business confidence rose for the sixth consecutive month, largely on hopes government spending will spur growth. Berlin is driving much of the hopes with plans to spend hundreds of billions of euros on infrastructure and defence.
And borrowing costs in the Eurozone continue to decline, with the European Central Bank cutting its key interest rates again last month.
Tuesday’s ZEW report followed the July survey results from German pollster Sentix, which last week showed a rise in sentiment among investors. Sentix’s overall confidence index this month hit its highest level in more than three years.
Sign up for LiveSquawk and receive a discount with the code LSQEC$