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German investor morale falls more than expected in August, ZEW finds
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 12, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 12, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
German investor morale fell sharply in August due to disappointment with the US-EU trade deal and weak economic performance, according to ZEW.
By Maria Martinez
BERLIN (Reuters) -German investor morale fell more than expected in August, the ZEW economic research institute said on Tuesday citing widespread disappointment with the US-EU trade deal and sluggish economic performance in Germany in the second quarter.
The economic sentiment index fell to 34.7 points from 52.7 points in July, while analysts polled by Reuters had pointed to a reading of 39.8.
"Financial market experts are disappointed by the
announced EU–US trade deal," said ZEW President Achim Wambach.
The U.S. struck a framework trade agreement with the European Union last month, imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods.
The decline is also due to the poor performance of the German economy in the second quarter, Wambach said.
Germany's economy contracted by 0.1% in the second quarter, as demand from the United States slowed following months of strong purchases in anticipation of U.S. tariffs.
The survey's assessment of the current economic situation also deteriorated significantly, with the indicator falling to minus 68.6 from minus 59.5 points the previous month.
(Reporting by Maria Martinez, Writing by Friederike Heine, Editing by Rachel More)
The ZEW economic research institute reported that German investor morale fell more than expected in August, with the economic sentiment index dropping to 34.7 points from 52.7 points in July.
The decline in investor sentiment was attributed to disappointment with the EU-US trade deal and the poor performance of the German economy in the second quarter.
The survey's assessment of the current economic situation deteriorated significantly, with the indicator falling to minus 68.6 from minus 59.5 points the previous month.
Germany's economy contracted by 0.1% in the second quarter, as demand from the United States slowed following months of strong purchases in anticipation of U.S. tariffs.
ZEW President Achim Wambach expressed that financial market experts are disappointed by the announced EU–US trade deal, which has negatively impacted investor sentiment.
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