ZURICH (MaceNews) – German business sentiment rose significantly in March, to the highest level since June of 2019, as current conditions and the outlook components exceeded both expectations and the result of the previous month.
The Ifo Institute’s Business Sentiment Index rose in March to 96.6 from a revised 92.7 (92.4) in February, beating the median of 93.0 in an Econoday survey of economists.
“Companies were clearly more satisfied with their current business situation. Optimism about the coming months has also returned. Despite the rising rate of infections, the German economy is entering the spring with confidence,” Ifo President Clements Fuest said in a statement accompanying the release.
The expectations component topped 100 for the first time since at least March 2020, rising to 100.4 from a revised 95.0 (94.2) in February. In the manufacturing sector, “expectations were the most optimistic they have been since November 2010,” the report said, adding that demand for German manufactured goods rose “appreciably”.
Current conditions rose to an index reading of 93.0 from 90.6 the previous month. The Econoday median called for 91.1.
- Services: “Business was particularly good for IT service providers”. The situation for hotels, restaurants and tourism is still in a “very bad situation”.
- Trade: The retail sector situation “is still bad”, but “slightly less so” than the previous month with positive expectations among supermarkets, bicycle dealers and florists.
- Construction: The sectors overall index “back in positive territory” as current conditions are at their highest level in a year.
April Business Climate will be released April 26 at 10:00 CET.
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