Business confidence in Germany has reached a 15-year high point, following an unexpected surge in the Ifo business climate index in March.
The Ifo index soared to 105.4 points in March - the highest reading since April 1991 and up from 103.4 in February.
'The economic recovery is continuing to stabilise,' the head of the respected Munich-based Ifo institute Hans-Werner Sinn said.
Sinn said that optimism had spread through most sectors of the economy and that the most marked improvement had been registered in the poorer former communist eastern states.
The assessment of current conditions and future expectations both improved strongly. The business assessment index rose to 105.1 in March from 101.9 in February, while the business expectations index rose to 105.7 from a revised 104.9 in February.
Economist suggested that the European Central Bank would see the Ifo's gains as a reason to carry on raising interest rates, as they showed the German economic recovery gathering strength.
The widely watched business climate index, based on a poll of 7,000 companies, is considered a reliable barometer of the prospects of the German economy.
