In February 2026, the ZEW business expectations for Germany slipped slightly, falling to 58.3 points-1.3 points below the figure from the previous month, according to the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim. Despite this, the gauge of the current economic situation improved, rising to -65.9 points, a gain of 6.8 points over the month before.
ZEW President Achim Wambach described the situation as “stable”. He said the German economy remains in a phase of fragile recovery, with structural challenges-particularly in industry and private investment-still significant. He added that forthcoming reforms of the social‑security systems should be leveraged to markedly boost the country’s attractiveness as a business location.
Export‑oriented sectors showed moderate to strong gains in February. The outlook for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries rose by 7.5 points, steel and metal production by 8.6 points, and engineering by 10.9 points. These improvements are expected to reflect the better‑than‑anticipated order intake seen by the end of 2025.
Private consumption expectations also improved, rising by 6.0 points. Negative trends, however, were noted in the banking, information‑technology, and insurance sectors.
For the Eurozone, expectations showed little change, standing at +39.4 points-1.4 points below the previous month. The assessment of the current situation improved to -13.6 points, a rise of 4.5 points from the prior month.
