German business confidence rises for sixth consecutive month in April
German business confidence improved for a sixth consecutive month in April on the back of better sentiment in the manufacturing sector, reflecting stability at a high level in the economy overall.
The IFO institute´s business confidence index jumped to a reading of 108.6 from 107.9 in the month before.
The consensus forecast was for a print of 107.9.
A sub-index linked to firms´ expectations slipped to 103.5 from 103.9 in the month before (consensus: 104.5).
Meanwhile, a gauge of companies´ current assessment rose sharply, reaching a level of 113.9 after a reading of 112.1 in the previous month.
Among the various subindices the increase seen in a gauge of manufacturing was particularly significant. It rose to a reading of 14.2 from 12.6 in the month before.
Another subindex, linked to wholesaling, increased to 12.7 from 10.1.
Although recent soft readings on economic activity in the US and China, together with the noise from Greece, are probably weighing a little on business expectations, cheap oil and the recent 12% depreciation in the trade weighted euro exchange rate relative to the 201-14 average are enough to let Germany – and other economies in Europe – overcome the occassional hiccups in the increasingly well-entrenched recovery in the Eurozone, said Berenberg Bank´s Holger Schmieding.