Germany September Ifo business climate index 89.9 vs 89.1 expectedPrior 88.8Germany September Ifo business expectations 90.4 vs 89.3 expectedPrior 89.1; revised to 89.0Germany September Ifo current assessment index 89.5 vs 89.0 expectedPrior 88.5
Things are looking on the up in Germany as the latest business climate index surveyed by Ifo rises further in September to its highest since May 2023.
Meanwhile, the outlook/expectations index also climbed further on the month in posting its fifth consecutive rise to the highest since February. That continues to underscore improving sentiment towards the German business outlook despite more challenging conditions from higher energy prices.
While the recent trend has been encouraging, it remains to be seen how the better sentiment here will translate to actual hard data in the months ahead. That especially as oil prices threaten to sit at sticky levels near $100 and bond yields are threatening to surge higher. The former may give rise to inflation pressures and threaten to push input costs and output charges higher for businesses, making it tougher to sustain margins. Meanwhile, the latter may lead to tighter financial conditions and make it tougher on the credit side of things.
So, those are key considerations to be mindful of beyond what the more optimistic picture that the data may present at the end of the third quarter.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.