Link Securities| Germany’s business climate index, compiled by the IFO institute, rose in November to 87.3 points from 86.9 points in October, its second consecutive monthly improvement. The reading was slightly below the 87.5 points expected by the FactSet consensus of analysts. Sentiment reached its highest level in four months as companies became less pessimistic about both their expectations for the coming months (85.2 points versus 84.8 points in October) and their current business situation (89.4 points versus 89.2 points in October). In November, sentiment improved among manufacturing companies (-13.5 points versus -15.7 points in October), among retailers (-22.2 points versus -27.3 points in October) and among builders (-29.4 points versus -30.8 points in October), but worsened among service providers (-2.5 points versus -1.5 points in October).
The IFO index, which shows the opinion that companies have of the current situation, rose in November to 89.4 points from 89.2 points in October, also below analysts’ expectations of 89.6 points. Finally, the index assessing companies’ business expectations rose in November to 85.2 from 84.8 in October, slightly below the 85.3 expected by analysts.
