Ifo index up
April 24, 2015
The index for April rose more than expected, to 108.6 from March's 107.9, with German companies rating their current situation particularly well.
The Ifo business sentiment index, which reflects the views of around 7,000 firms based in Germany, shows that low oil prices and the weak euro had a positive impact on companies.
"The upswing in the German economy continues," Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn said in a statement. But the poll also shows that companies are not quite as upbeat about their future prospects.
On Wednesday, the German government raised its growth forecast to 1.8 percent for both 2015 and 2016, but Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel warned that there was no reason for complacency.
Earlier in the week, the widely watched ZEW index, which polls institutional investors and analysts, dropped 1.5 points to 53.3 points in April, with analysts citing weakness in the global economy, which is seen to be hurting exports going forward.
ng/uhe (Reuters, dpa)