German business confidence improved slightly in April, after deteriorating sharply during the preceding two months, the Ifo economic research institute said today.
The Ifo's business climate index rose this month for the first time since January, edging up to 96.3 points in April from 95.4 points.
Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn said that the findings of its latest survey 'point to a further, albeit modest' economic recovery. He warned that: 'There can be no talk as yet of a strong rebound.'
For its monthly survey, Ifo polls around 7,000 companies about their assessment of current business and their expectations for the next six months.
A breakdown of the data showed that the rise in the headline index this month was driven primarily by companies' current assesstments.
The current sentiment sub-index jumped to 94.9 points in April from 92.2 points in March. However, companies appeared to be less confident about the six-month outlook, with the expectations sub-index falling by one full point to 97.8 points in April.
