German business sentiment steady in May - Ifo
Business confidence in Germany was steady in May, with the downward trend in morale over after five months of declines, according to a survey released by the Ifo Institute on Friday.
The business climate index was unchanged from April at 102.2, while the current situation index pushed up to 106.0 in May from 105.8 the month before. However, the expectations index slipped to 98.5 from 98.7.
Clemens Fuest, president of the Ifo Institute, said: "The declining trend in the Ifo business climate has stopped. The very good current business situation improved slightly, but the optimistic expectations weakened slightly. The German economy is performing well in a difficult international situation. The current business survey and other indicators point to economic growth of 0.4% in the second quarter."
Capital Economics said: "The stabilisation of the German Ifo in May is encouraging and provides some hope that a rebound in growth is on the cards in the second quarter. We doubt that the economy will regain all of its lost momentum, but it should still put in a good performance over 2018 as a whole."
Meanwhile, Pantheon Macroeconomics said: "We suppose that we should happy that these data are no longer nose-diving, but overall, this is a soft report. The headline index managed only a small rebound from recent weakness, and the expectations index- which is the main leading indicator in this survey - fell further, albeit only slightly.
"The current assessment index rose to 106.0 from 105.8. Across sectors, the headline indices were little changed. Sentiment fell slightly in manufacturing, but rose in services. It also increased further in construction."