German Ifo Says Business Confidence Low

October 27, 2014 Share Print 0

German business confidence has fallen to its lowest level in almost two years, a survey suggests, raising concerns about the strength of Europe’s largest economy.

The Ifo think tank’s closely-watched Business Climate Index fell to 103.2 in October, down from 104.7 in the previous month.

“The outlook for the German economy deteriorated once again,” Ifo said.

The country’s economy contracted by 0.2% between April and June this year.

There are growing concerns about Germany’s ability to bounce back in the second half of the year.

Earlier this month, the government sharply cut its growth forecast for this year and next, following weak export and industrial output figures.

“Things have not gone well for German industry and there are no bright spots for industry,” said Ifo economist Klaus Wohlrabe.

Following the latest Ifo survey, which showed confidence at its lowest point since December 2012, analysts said the recent slew of weak data was compounding fears about wider issues outside of Germany.

via BBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.