German Business Sentiment Deteriorates Sharply
May 23 2019 - 5:03AM
Dow Jones News
By Nina Adam
FRANKFURT--German business sentiment dropped in May, as
companies' assessment of their current situation worsened, a sign
that the economy is still lacking oomph, the Ifo Institute said
Thursday.
The Ifo business-climate index slipped to 97.9 points from 99.2
points in April. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had
forecast a reading of 99.1 points for May.
The Ifo result is based on a poll of about 9,000 companies in
manufacturing, services, trade and construction.
On the bright side, companies in the country's important
manufacturing sector raised their expectations for the first time
since 2018, according to the Ifo.
In the chemicals industry, "optimism has taken the place of
recent pessimism," Ifo President Clemens Fuest said, but he added
that "the German economy is still lacking in momentum."
Write to Nina Adam at nina.adam@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 23, 2019 04:48 ET (08:48 GMT)
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