Germany’s business outlook improved for a fifth month as Europe’s biggest economy looks set to avoid the gloomy scenarios many feared after Russia invaded Ukraine.
(Bloomberg) — Germany’s business outlook improved for a fifth month as Europe’s biggest economy looks set to avoid the gloomy scenarios many feared after Russia invaded Ukraine.
An expectations gauge by the Ifo institute rose to 88.5 in February from 86.4 the previous month. That was better than the 88.3 median estimate in a Bloomberg poll of economists. An index of current conditions edged lower.
“The German economy is gradually working its way out of a period of weakness,” Ifo President Clemens Fuest said Wednesday in a statement.
The reading is the latest sign of resilience in Germany a year after Russia launched the attack on its neighbor. Surveys of purchasing managers on Tuesday signaled private activity returned to growth this month, driven by an easing of supply shortages and expansion in the services sector.
Investor sentiment also improved for a fifth month on the back of higher profit expectations in the energy- and export-oriented sectors, according to ZEW data on Tuesday.
Manufacturing, which plays an outsize role in Germany, remains under pressure. New orders have suffered from a slowing global economy and a spike in living costs.
The Bundesbank said this week it still expects output to contract slightly this year, though by less than predicted in December.
–With assistance from Mark Evans and Joel Rinneby.
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