Craftsmen work on cast metal for the production of an art work at the Hermann Noack fine art foundry’s production site in Berlin on January 24, 2023. A January Ifo survey showed improved sentiment among German businesses.
Tobias Schwarz | Afp | Getty Images
German business sentiment improved in January, according to a widely watched survey from the Munich-based Ifo Institute — in a prospective sign that Europe’s largest economy could swerve a recession.
Ifo’s Business Climate Index rose to 90.2 points from 88.6 points previously on “considerably less pessimistic expectations,” a release said. This still left the index below its 2021 and early 2022 level.
Companies reported overall lower satisfaction with their current situation. This was offset by a better sentiment on trade and by signals of present satisfaction and future optimism from manufacturing firms.
“The expectation was that there might be a recession in the fourth quarter of…
