The closely watched monthly business confidence index of the country’s leading economic research institute “Ifo” in Munich, based on business surveys, rose from 87.9 to 89.4 points in the past month.
The rise in the indicator beat the forecasts of analysts polled by the FactSet agency, which predicted an increase to an average of 88.9 points.
Sentiment in Europe’s largest economy reached its highest level since May 2023, further brightened by expectations of a possible interest rate cut by the European Central Bank and a gradual weakening of inflationary pressure.
“German business sentiment is becoming increasingly optimistic. The economy is stabilizing,” Ifo president Clemens Fuest was quoted as saying in the report.
The sub-index of assessments of the current situation rose from 88.1 to 88.9 points during the month, and the sub-index of expectations for the next six months rose from 87.7 to 89.9 points.
Sentiment improved across all major economic sectors.
Ifo includes approximately 9,000 people in these regular surveys. managers of companies in the industry, construction, trade and service sectors.
