Weekly Index Suggests Continued Economic Expansion In Mid-Q2

The Bundesbank weekly activity index for the week of May 27 - June 2 came in at -0.1 (vs 0.0 prior, unrevised) and implies a quarterly GDP growth rate for Germany of +0.2% in the 13 weeks up to June 2 (on a rolling, 13 week/13 week basis).

• After initially printing at low levels recently, the index has been consistently upwardly revised in subsequent releases, and now suggests activity expanded in mid-Q2 - a markedly brighter picture than the sharp contraction indicated about a month ago.
• The WAI fluctuates around its long-term mean of 0. Positive values indicate above-average growth in real economic activity, while negative values signal a below average increase or a decline in economic output.
• The index takes into account data on electricity consumption, truck mileage, flight activity, foot traffic, air pollution, credit card payments, as well as German google searches for "unemployment", "short-time work", and "state support".
• The index is volatile and individual weekly readings should not be taken too seriously in isolation - though given the recent strength in incoming German economic activity data (see our German Macro Signal publication out last week), we are watching closely for confirmation of stronger growth going forward.

MNI, Bundesbank