Business confidence in Germany stabilised at a high level in April, after soaring to the highest level in 15 years in previous months, a new survey showed this morning.
The widely watched business climate index calculated each month by the Munich-based economic research institute Ifo, slipped to 105.6 points in May from 105.9 points in April, Ifo said in a statement. Analysts had been expecting a steeper decline.
Nevertheless, the decline from last month's 15-year high did not throw a question mark over the outlook for the euro zone's biggest economy, Ifo board member Gebhard Flaig said.
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 current sentiment sub-index rose to 107.3 in May from 106.4 in April. At the same time, the expectations sub-index fell to 104 from 105.5 points.
