Fra IFO
ifo Business Climate Index Rises
Munich, October 25, 2024 – Sentiment among companies in Germany has improved. The ifo Business Climate Index rose in October to 86.5 points, up from 85.4 points in September. This is the first increase after four decreases in a row. Companies were more satisfied with their current situation. Expectations were brighter but marked by skepticism. The German economy stopped the decline for the time being.
In manufacturing, the downward trend did not continue in this month. This was due to noticeably less pessimistic expectations by the companies. However, they assessed the current business situation as considerably worse. The lack of orders remains a core problem. Capacity utilization fell by 1.2 percentage points and, at 76.5 percent, is significantly below the long-term mean of 83.4 percent.
In the service sector, the Business Climate Index returned to positive territory. The companies were noticeably more satisfied with the current situation. Expectations rose slightly. Sentiment improved especially in logistics, tourism, and IT.
In trade, the Index rose somewhat. While expectations improved slightly at a low level, the companies were less satisfied with the current business situation.
In construction, the business cimate worsened. This was due to more pessimistic expectations by the companies. They did, however, assess the current business situation as somewhat better.
