ZURICH (MaceNews) – Sentiment among German businesses rose in January, reversing a series of declines since July, led by higher expectations according to the latest report from the Ifo Institute in Munich.
Ifo’s Business Climate Index rose to 95.7 in January from a revised 94.8 (94.7) in December. The result is better than the slight improvement to 94.9 that is the median of an Econoday survey of economists’ forecasts.
“While companies’ assessments of the current situation were somewhat less positive, their expectations improved considerably. The German economy is starting the new year with a glimmer of hope,” Ifo President Clemens Fuest said in a statement.
The expectations index improved to 95.2 in January from a revised 92.7 (92.6) in December and more than two points higher than the Econoday median of 93.0.
Current conditions declined to 96.1 in January from an unrevised 96.9 the previous month and was in-line with the Econoday median forecast of 96.2.
Earlier this month the ZEW’s Index of Economic Sentiment rose to 51.7 in January from 29.9 in December, soundly beating economist’s expectations for a modest increase to 32.0, according to the median of an Econoday survey of forecasts.
