German business confidence unexpectedly rises higher
BY Wire reports
Saturday, November 24, 2012
11/24/12 at 5:32 AM
German business confidence rose unexpectedly in November after six straight declines, a closely watched survey showed Friday, raising hopes that Europe's largest economy can continue to weather the financial crisis.
Munich's Ifo institute said its key business climate figure rose to 101.4 points in November from 100 in October. Economists had been predicting a modest drop to 99.5. The increase in the headline index came on the back of increases in the measures about the present and the future.
"The latest positive news from business surveys clearly increased the odds for a real turnaround at the change of the year," said UniCredit economist Alexander Koch.
However, he cautioned that "the fog of uncertainty remains unusually dense, and downside risks are high."
Germany's economy, Europe's biggest, has recovered strongly from its deep recession in 2008-09. However, there have been recent signs that its export-driven economy is beginning to slow amid weakening demand from other countries from within the European Union, though exports outside the bloc have remained strong.
