The Ifo Business Climate indicator for Germany rose to 79.5 in May 2020 from an all-time low of 74.2 in the previous month and above market expectations of 78.3. The gauge measuring companies' expectations for the coming months improved considerably (80.1 vs 69.4 in April) as the gradual easing of the coronavirus-related lockdown measures offers a glimmer of hope. At the same time, firms once again assessed their current situation as slightly worse (78.9 vs 79.4). Companies in all sectors became less pessimistic: manufacturing (-36.4 vs -44.5); service providers (-21.0 vs -34.2); traders (-30.5 vs -48.4); and constructors (-12.0 vs -17.7).

Business Confidence in Germany averaged 97.92 points from 1991 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 109.80 points in January of 1991 and a record low of 74.20 points in April of 2020. This page provides the latest reported value for - Germany Business Confidence - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Germany Ifo Business Climate Index - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on May of 2020. source: Ifo Institute

Business Confidence in Germany is expected to be 78.00 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Business Confidence in Germany to stand at 94.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Germany Ifo Business Climate Index is projected to trend around 100.00 points in 2021 and 104.00 points in 2022, according to our econometric models.

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Germany Ifo Business Climate Index

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
79.50 74.20 109.80 74.20 1991 - 2020 points Monthly
2015=100, SA


Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2020-03-19 09:00 AM Ifo Business Climate Prel Mar 87.7 96 88
2020-03-25 09:00 AM Ifo Business Climate Final Mar 86.1 96 87.7 87.7
2020-04-24 08:00 AM Ifo Business Climate Apr 74.3 85.9 80 80
2020-05-25 08:00 AM Ifo Business Climate May 79.5 74.2 78.3 79.1
2020-06-24 08:00 AM Ifo Business Climate Jun 79.5 78
2020-07-27 08:00 AM Ifo Business Climate Jul
2020-08-25 08:00 AM Ifo Business Climate Aug
2020-09-24 08:00 AM Ifo Business Climate Sep 85
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
German Business Climate Recovers from Record Low
The Ifo Business Climate indicator for Germany rose to 79.5 in May 2020 from an all-time low of 74.2 in the previous month and above market expectations of 78.3. The gauge measuring companies' expectations for the coming months improved considerably (80.1 vs 69.4 in April) as the gradual easing of the coronavirus-related lockdown measures offers a glimmer of hope. At the same time, firms once again assessed their current situation as slightly worse (78.9 vs 79.4). Companies in all sectors became less pessimistic: manufacturing (-36.4 vs -44.5); service providers (-21.0 vs -34.2); traders (-30.5 vs -48.4); and constructors (-12.0 vs -17.7).
2020-05-25
German Business Climate Weakest on Record
The Ifo Business Climate indicator for Germany dropped to 74.3 in April 2020, the lowest on record, from a downwardly revised 85.9 in the previous month and below market expectations of 80. It was also the sharpest monthly fall on record as the coronavirus pandemic hit businesses, jobs and overall activity. The business expectations sub-index declined to 69.4 from 79.5 in March and the gauge for current conditions went down to 79.5 from 92.9. Sentiment across service providers posted the largest decline on record (-34.2 vs -7.6 in March) and that among traders also fell markedly (-48.4 vs -21). Additionally, manufacturing confidence went down to -44.4 (vs -18.7 in March), the lowest since March 2009, and morale among constructors decreased to -17.6 (vs 5 in March).
2020-04-24
German Business Climate Weakest in a Decade
The Ifo Business Climate indicator for Germany was revised lower to 86.1 in March 2020, the lowest since July 2009, from a preliminary estimate of 87.7. It was also the steepest monthly fall since German reunification as the Covid-19 outbreak hurts businesses, jobs and overall activity. Sentiment across service providers posted the biggest fall on record (-7.6 vs 17.4 in February) and that among traders also declined sharply (-21.4 vs 1.0). In addition, manufacturing confidence dropped to -18.2 (vs -1.6 in February), the lowest since August 2009, while morale among constructors was down to 5.0 (vs 12.9 in February). Meanwhile, the Ifo institute believes that Germany's economy could contract by between 5 percent and 20 percent this year depending on the length of the shutdown caused by the pandemic.
2020-03-25
German Business Climate Plunges to 10-1/2-Year Low
The Ifo Business Climate indicator for Germany tumbled 8.3 points from the previous month to 87.7 in March 2020, a preliminary estimate showed, the biggest drop since 1991 to the lowest level since August 2009. The gauge for business expectations posted the sharpest decline on record amid concerns that the Covid-19 could send Germany's economy into a severe recession. The current conditions index also fell.
2020-03-19

Germany Ifo Business Climate Index
In Germany, the IFO Business Climate Index measures entrepreneurs’ sentiment about current business situation and their expectations for the next 6 months. The survey is made by phone and covers 9,000 firms in manufacturing, the service sector, trade and construction. The Business Climate Balance is constructed as the difference between the percentage share of executives that are optimistic and the share that are pessimistic. This balance can take values between -100 (all responding firms assess their situation as poor and expect business to deteriorate) and +100 (all responding firms assessed their situation as good and expect an improvement in their business). For the calculation of the IFO Business Climate Index, the Balance is normalized to the average of a base year (currently 2015).