ZEW

The German ZEW EConomic Sentiment came out better than forecast at -45.2 from the previous -53.5.  A drop to -55.7 was forecast.

The EU ZEW Economic Sentiment came out better than forecast also at -46.1 from the previous -54.0.  A drop to -55.8 was forecast.

The EUR initially made a jump and firmed up behind these better than expected numbers.

ZEW's Schmidt: Economic situation could still worsen, investors think additional ECB rate cuts needed
- Gov't simulus only the first step
- Expects consumption to remain weak

The CHF ZEW Economic Expectations came out at -88.5 from the previous -91.1.  This was forecast for a rise to -88.0.

This data did not move the CHF much.   

The German ZEW Economic Sentiment came out at -53.5, better than the previous -63.0.  This was forecast for a drop to -62.5.

The EURO ZEW Economic Sentiment came out at -54.0 from the previous -62.7.  A small rise to -60.0 was forecast.

The EUR firmed up after this better than expected data.   

ZEW says perspectives for economic development have significant deteriorated from the financial market crisis

The German ZEW Economic Sentiment comes out at -63.0 from the previous -41.1.  A drop to only -51.1 was forecast.

The EUROZONE ZEW came out at -62.7 from the previous -40.9.  A drop to -57.2 was forecast.

The EUR softened up initially after both of these figures came out well below expectation.   

The ZEW Economic Expectations comes out at -44.4 from the previous -79.6.  No expectations were available for this release.

There was not much reaction in the CHF after this release. 

The CHF ZEW comes out at -79.6 from the previous -76.9.  There was no forecast for this data.

There was not much change in the CHF after this release.  

The German ZEW Economic Sentiment comes out at -55.5 from the previous -63.9.  This was forecast at -62.0.

The EUR ZEW comes out at -55.7 from the previous -63.7.  This was forecast at -65.0

The EUR made some knee-jerk gains as both these figures came out better than forecast.  These gains reversed very fast back to the pre-data levels.  

Some comments:

ZEW ECONOMIST SAYS THERE IS LIMITED FEAR OF ECONOMIC DOWNTURN; CITES DECLINES IN BOTH OIL PRICES AND EURO CURRENCY HAVE EASED CONCERNS

ZEW FRANZ SAYS FINANCIAL MARKET EXPECTS WEAKER BUT ROBUST ECONOMY AND MARKET EXPERTS DO NOT FEAR RECESSION

ZEW'S SCHMIDT SAYS INVESTORS EXPECT FURTHER DROP IN BOTH OIL AND EURO

The Swissy ZEW came out at -63.8 from the previous 60.4.  A slight drop was forecast to -60.8.

There was not a great deal of change after the data as the CHF has been substantially weaker vs. its counters throughout the session.   

The German ZEW Economic Sentiment comes out lower at -41.4 from the previous -40.7.  This was forecast at -37.5.

The EUROZONE ZEW comes out at -43.6 from the previous -44.8.  This was forecast at -44.2.

The EUR took a drop across the board after the weaker than forecast German ZEW and pretty much on par EUROZONE data.  The USD got firmer vs. the EUR after this data, gaining about 20 PIPS initially.