- Title: German business morale unchanged in October - Ifo
- Date: 25th October 2019
- Summary: MUNICH, GERMANY (OCTOBER 25, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF IFO PRESIDENT CLEMENS FUEST SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) IFO PRESIDENT, CLEMENS FUEST, SAYING: "The business climate index is stable. It already recovered somewhat last month so we are seeing a stabilisation of the economy. There is no turnaround yet so we can't say that the downswing is over, here comes the upswing, but it's a clear stabilisation, especially in the industry which is a very important sector for the German economy. We are seeing a certain recovery." IFO LOGO (SOUNDBITE) (German) IFO PRESIDENT, CLEMENS FUEST, SAYING: "There is strong domestic demand and the construction industry is doing well. A lot of service sectors are also performing well and all of this is supportive. Also, the likelihood of a hard Brexit diminished over the past 4 weeks. There were worries that the British government would steer head-on towards a hard Brexit and now they are sitting down at the table. The EU is signalling its readiness for negotiations so there is hope in the economy that reason prevails." FLYERS (SOUNDBITE) (German) IFO PRESIDENT, CLEMENS FUEST, SAYING: "There are still big risks for the economy. It's possible that the American president changes his mind again and starts a trade war with Europe. It's still possible that things go wrong with Brexit. We don't know how the economy in such important countries as China will develop. If there is a stronger downturn then it would hit the German economy. There are geopolitical tensions in Turkey, in Syria. All this shows that the environment remains difficult."
- Embargoed: 8th November 2019 11:31
- Keywords: business Ifo index Clemens Fuest sentiment industry
- Location: SCHROBENHAUSEN & MUNICH & COLOGNE & BERLIN & WOLFSBURG & DUISBURG, GERMANY
- City: SCHROBENHAUSEN & MUNICH & COLOGNE & BERLIN & WOLFSBURG & DUISBURG, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA002B2LFQFH
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:German business sentiment held steady in October, and Europe's largest economy should grow moderately in the final quarter after contracting earlier in the year, the Ifo economic institute said on Friday.
Ifo said its business climate index was unchanged from the prior month in October at 94.6.
That was just above the consensus forecast for 94.5.
"The business climate index is stable, we are seeing a certain recovery," Ifo President Clemens Fuest told Reuters Television.
Europe's economic powerhouse shrank in the second quarter, and many economists expect it to have done so again in the third. That would put it in recession - usually defined as a period of at least two consecutive quarters of contraction.
Germany's export-reliant economy has been suffering from slower global growth and business uncertainty caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's 'America First' trade policies and Britain's planned, but delayed, exit from the European Union.
(Production: Niklas Dimmer, Marcus Nagle, Michele Sani) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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