ZURICH (MaceNews) – Business confidence among Germany companies improved markedly in May as they judged current conditions and future developments more positively, the latest figures released by the Munich-based IFO Institute showed.
The Business Climate Index rose to 99.2 in May from a revised 96.6 (96.8) the previous month, and solidly beating expectations for a gain to 98.0 which was the median of an Econoday survey of economists’ forecasts.
“The German economy is picking up speed,” IFO President Clements Fuest said in a statement. The expectations component increased to 102.9 in May from 99.2 the previous month, beating the Econoday of 101.0.
Current conditions also improved to 95.7 from 94.2 in April, topping the Econoday median of 95.0,
In the manufacturing sector, Fuest noted that company order books grew “and companies expect prices to increase.” Improved sentiment in the sector is having a positive effect on the trade component as “wholesalers continue to benefit from positive developments in manufacturing.”
IFO will release its next Business Climate Index on June 24 at 10:00am CET.
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