The weekly activity index (WAI) is an index designed to measure real economic activity in Germany in a timely manner. The index is based on daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly indicators for the German economy.

Update as of 19 May 2025

• For the week of 12 May – 18 May (week 20) the WAI stands at − 0.3. The decrease was thus stronger than that in the preceding week (previously − 0.1).
• The index value indicates that trend-adjusted economic activity (measured by the WAI) in the 13 weeks up to 18 May was 0.3 % below activity in the preceding 13 weeks.
• The WAI-implied GDP growth rate for the last 13 weeks up to 18 May compared with the preceding 13 weeks is − 0.2 %.

Due to missing data for the indicator pedestrian frequency since week 19 and for the indicator realised electricity consumption since 18 May, the WAI was calculated without these data points.

The next update is scheduled for 26 May 2025.

Note

The WAI is still a work in progress; it is constantly undergoing revision and, when necessary, adjusted (see Methodology). The WAI is not an official forecast of the Deutsche Bundesbankor the Eurosystem.

Citation

Please cite this report as follows:
Eraslan, S. and T. Götz (2020), An unconventional weekly economic activity index for Germany, Deutsche Bundesbank Technical Paper, 02/2020. Data retrieved from www.bundesbank.de/wai.